Scarlet
by thinking of england
Summary: There is no place for our love in this world or your own. This fire will burn us both to death. UlquiHime. COMPLETE.
1. Captive

**_Scarlet_**

**_by: Thinking of England _**

**A/N: I got some pretty nice feedback on my UlquiHime oneshot, so I decided to write a full length one (check out the other story if you feel so inclined). The first chapter is on the short side but I promise the rest of the stuff I've written is much longer, and I'll keep posting if you guys like this.**

**Summary: Orihime's imprisonment in Hueco Mundo changed life as she knew it. Thrown into a constant struggle to keep her sanity and her dignity, she finds consolation in the most unlikely of places.**

**WARNING: Definite spoilers from the manga.**

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Moonlight poured in through the single window in Orihime Inoue's cell, bathing the bland white room in light. The girl sat on her bed hugging her knees and staring out onto the desolate sands of Hueco Mundo. She noticed that the barren landscape reflected pale blues and purples that were eerie yet somehow serene.

Each day, Orihime grew a little bit more accustomed to her new lifestyle as a prisoner in Las Noches. Since she had arrived a few weeks prior, Orihime spent a lot of her time contemplating the situation and gravely missing all of her friends. The solitude of being locked in a room the size of a matchbox all day and night was getting under her skin.

Four times a day Orihime was served food that was barely edible, hollows constantly found ways to agonize her, and she was forced to wear traditional arrancar robes that displayed a visible mark of her traitorous decision to follow Ulquiorra into Hueco Mundo.

Aizen's use of her healing powers had started the day Orihime restored Grimmjow's missing arm. Directly afterwards, he shoved it straight through former espada Luppi's abdomen, laughing maniacally the whole time. This gave Orihime a knot of guilt that throbbed in the pit of her stomach. Each arrancar that she healed could go out to kill shinigami. The fate of the purple eyed espada could just as easily belong to Sado, Rukia, Renji, Ishida, or Ichigo.

Orihime brushed out her locks of auburn hair, a ritualistic activity. She ran a brush from root to tip and smoothed over the unruly strands of frizz until all of her hair was perfect and sleek.

The cell door slid open, causing Orihime to jump. She watched intently as an espada swept into the room holding a tray with a teacup and some crackers. He made little or no mention of his entry, a typical lack of courtesy.

"Drink this, woman," said Ulquiorra Schiffer. He set the tea tray down on the small white table, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets.

"Yes, sir," replied Orihime. She stood up to receive the teacup, taking as sip. The girl squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried to keep her expression neutral as the bitter, hot liquid slid down her throat.

Ulquiorra watched her drink through his emerald colored eyes. His cold, calculating glance burned through her and he was frowning in indifference. Orihime didn't even think that he had any other emotions. Ulquiorra was wearing his typical Arrancar robes with long coattails and his zampakuto glinted menacingly at his hip.

She sat on the edge of her bed with the cup. "Thank you," replied Orihime meekly.

Ulquiorra ignored this. His eyes traveled up and down her body. He took note of her obvious discomfort and depressions. The espada watched as she habitually stroked her long locks of hair, which fell down to the small of her back. This display evoked no emotion from the espada but piqued his curiosity.

"Why do you keep your hair so long... does it not get in your way?" asked Ulquiorra.

"Nope, not really," replied Orihime in a shaky voice. She cleared her throat. "I promised one of my old friends, Tatsuki, that I wouldn't cut it."

Orihime stopped herself before she went on to talk about how Tatsuki promised to protect her. Because there she was, standing in the presence of one of the deadliest hollows, locked up in Aizen's castle, and Tatsuki was nowhere to be found.

Ulquiorra continued to study her with a blank expression on his face, though he was slightly bemused. "Such a strange girl," he replied under his breath.

"Aizen will see you in a few day's time. Until then, eat all of your meals and preserve your strength," commanded Ulquiorra.

"Hai," replied Orihime. Ulquiorra turned on his heel and swept across the room. "Er, can I ask you something, Ulquiorra-san?"

The espada looked back and nodded his head slowly. Orihime found herself entranced by his smooth mannerisms. His cold, yet strangely alluring glance settled upon her once more.

"Do... D'you think that you could bring me something to read, like a book or a magazine? It can get dreadfully boring in here," she said.

"It is not of my concern if you are bored, I'm not here to entertain you," replied Ulquiorra.

"Of course you aren't!" Blurted out Orihime. "I was just wondering, if maybe you could-"

"-No. This is my final answer. Goodnight, woman."

Ulquiorra exited the room. Orihime heard the lock click, and she knew she was trapped there alone until sometime the next morning.

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**A/N: Please leave a review on the way out, I appreciate each one.**


	2. Sparks

**A/N: Just so you all know, the story is rated T for now but future chapters will definitely be bumped up to M (because there will be saucy lemons!). But for now we have some good, kinda clean, fun.**

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"So, Ulquiorra... How is Orihime adjusting?"

The raven haired espada looked up at Aizen. He was sitting on in his white armchair, smiling thoughtfully. Aizen's reiatsu was so strong that is smothered Ulquiorra's to almost nothing. Hands deep inside his pockets, he bowed down.

"The woman is very moody. On rare occasions is she upbeat, but most of the time she switches between despair and anger," replied Ulquiorra.

Aizen chuckled. "She's not quite as sweet as her appearance would lead us to believe."

"Indeed," said Ulquiorra. Understatement of the year, he mused silently. "Although her insubordinate behavior has subsided with her time here."

"Precisely as I expected," nodded Aizen. He watched Ulquiorra, grinning. "The reason I asked you here today is I have something I want you to think about."

"I know you are very terse and most likely don't spend time with the woman. But, I think it would be a good idea to talk to her. Feel out her intellect, discover her vulnerabilities," said Aizen.

"Yes, sir."

Aizen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now that she has adjusted to living here, I think it is time we make use of her powers. But first we must learn the best ways to manipulate her. That's where you step in, Ulquiorra."

"I will do my best, Aizen-sama," replied Ulquiorra. He looked expectantly up at Aizen.

The brown haired man nodded. "Good to hear. For tomorrow afternoon, however, I have a mission for you. There is something very important that needs attending to that I will only entrust to an espada as fine as yourself. The details are still very muddy so I will fill you in tomorrow, just be ready."

"I shall be back after I fetch the woman's breakfast to discuss it with you further," the espada replied.

"Very good. And Ulquiorra?"

The green eyed espada turned back around to face Aizen, gazing up expectantly. "Yes master?"

"I quite enjoyed our little chat. Feel free to report to me more often," he replied with a warm smile. But Aizen's smirk held more than just kindness, anybody who witnessed him grinning could tell that he was an evil mastermind with something cruel and twisted in mind.

"Yes, sir," replied Ulquiorra shortly. He swiftly exited the room, coattails swishing behind him

* * *

Orihime's feet didn't quite reach the floor when she dangled them off the edge of the bed. This didn't matter much to her considering how icy the marble floor was against her warm skin. The girl stood up and began to pace her cell. Her feet were numb with cold, but she disliked the tiny black flats that were provided to her so she walked around barefoot.

There wasn't too much to look at in Orihime's room, just some white furniture arranged in a minimalist style. She missed the bright colors and flashy patterns of her own bedroom. Orihime longed to go home and sink down into her fluffy, purple bed. The longer she waited patiently for rescue, the more that the small bubble of hope inside of her shrunk. It had already been almost a month, why did it seem like all of her friends were doing nothing about her kidnapping?

She looked up when the lock clicked softly, and Grimmjow Jagerjacques threw open the door.

"Hey, woman, how's it going?" he asked, entering the room. Orihime glanced at the white shards of mask on the right side of his jawbone, which always bore the appearance of a maniacal grin similar to the one Grimmjow was sporting on his lips. Her eyes traveled down to his exposed abdomen, where she could see straight through his hollow hole.

"I, uh, I'm fine," replied Orihime.

Grimmjow laughed. "Like I care," he snorted, dropping Orihime's tray of food so roughly that some of the tea spilled out of the porcelain mug. The lunch was a chicken breast, white rice, and some assorted vegetables that seemed to be drained of almost all of their color.

"That bastard Ulquiorra is lucky, getting to come in here and check you out all the time. Although your tits would be much nicer if you actually ate," said Grimmjow, giving Orihime a once over. She bit down on her lower lip, trying not to appear fazed. It would only make Grimmjow taunt her more.

What he said held some truth though, Orihime had dropped weight since arriving at Las Noches. Being served nothing but horrifically unappetizing food had withered her figure down. Orihime could count each of her ribs when she sucked in.

"Where is Ulquiorra-san today?" asked Orihime.

Grimmjow sneered a little bit. "He's out on a mission that should have been mine. Fuck him, he always gets the missions."

The red haired girl could hear Grimmjow's loathing for the fourth espada drip maliciously in every word he spoke about the other man.

" Besides, Aizen has been keeping tabs on me ever since I almost killed your precious little Ichigo," growled Grimmjow. Orihime flinched when he mentioned Ichigo.

"What happened with Kurosaki-san?" asked Orihime, curiosity getting the best of her. She immediately regretted it as his smile faded.

Grimmjow leaned in close to her face. So close that Orihime could feel his cold, inhuman breath brushing past her cheeks. "I would tell you, woman, but you wouldn't like the things I have to say," he said darkly. Grimmjow raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Orihime felt overwhelmed with sadness. She tried to keep her expression impassive for Grimmjow, thinking of Ulquiorra and how he always appeared emotionless.

"Stand still, woman," ordered Grimmjow. He walked around to her backside. Orihime squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself.

Grimmjow grabbed her butt. "Looks like your ass is small too, such a shame. No wonder that puny orange haired shinigami won't have you!" he taunted, throwing back his head in laughter. Orihime bowed her head down so that her bangs fell into her eyes, still biting down on her lip so hard she feared it might split open.

The rage building inside Orihime was immeasurable. She could barely constrain the urge to lash out at Grimmjow, but she knew that he would surely strike her back. Or even worse.

The blue haired espada wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. "Whew, I guess I'd better get going. There are a thousand places around this castle better than here," he said.

After Grimmjow finally left, Orihime sat down on her oversized white couch and sighed loudly. It was as comfortable as having a rest on a pile of plywood, but she could bear it.

Orihime folded her hands in her lap and sighed a little louder. She had tried to pry information about her friends out of Ulquiorra, and now Grimmjow, but her efforts appeared to be futile.

Maybe they hadn't come to rescue her because they marked her as a traitor. Ulquiorra had made it seem like she came to Hueco Mundo of her own free will, maybe everybody truly believed that she had turned to the dark side

* * *

Orihime sat in the porcelain bathtub, hugging her knees. Her sopping wet hair cascaded down her chest and floated on top of the soapy water. The girl quite enjoyed that Ulquiorra allowed her to use one of the third floor bathrooms for a change, for they were much nicer than the ones in the servants' quarters.

The bathroom was large and dimly lit with candles, a stark contrast to the blindingly white hallways. Every splash of the water and contented sigh that escaped Orihime's lips echoed off of the immaculate ivory tiles lining the walls and floor.

She relaxed her eyes and breathed in the sweet, fresh, scent of the soap. Being there put her mind more at ease than it had been ever since the kidnapping. The sensuality of the situation almost, almost made Orihime forget that she was being held prisoner by Sosuke Aizen.

Ulquiorra knocked on the door. "Woman, are you almost finished?"

"Yeah, um gimme a few minutes," chirped back Orihime. She rubbed soap up and down her forearms, scrubbing the skin clean and washing it off. She savored the hot, bubbly water.

Orihime's skin glistened in the candle light. She enjoyed her solitude in the bathroom much more than in her cell. Arrancars couldn't barge in to torment her, and the room was warm and sweet smelling.

She leaned back in the tub and breathed easily. The steam rising off the hot bath water was ultimately calming, and Orihime began to doze off.

"Woman!" called out Ulquiorra. "Get out now or I'm coming in to get you."

"Oh!" squealed Orihime, snapping back into consciousness so abruptly that she banged her head on the porcelain bathtub, causing a wave of water to splash onto the floor. She hopped out of the tub and wrapped a fluffy white towel around her waist just as Ulquiorra entered the room.

"Ulquiorra-san! Sorry, I fell asleep!" she blurted out, cheeks flushing crimson as she clutched the towel tightly against her sopping wet body. It covered her body from high up on her thigh to just barely above her breasts.

Ulquiorra looked down at her luscious body and felt a warmth in the pit of his stomach. His eyes widened for just a moment.

Recovering quickly, he scoffed and looked Orihime in the eyes. "Was it an error of my judgment to trust your word? That was much longer than a few minutes."

"I told you, I fell asleep. It's just so nice in here," replied Orihime with a nervous laugh. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I like this bathroom much better. Thank you for bringing me here."

"Dress yourself immediately, woman. My patience wears thin."

"Yes sir!" replied Orihime. She watched intently as Ulquiorra turned to face the opposite wall. His hands were still deep in his pockets, posture upright.

Orihime let the towel slide to the slippery, soaked floor, flipping her hair back before pulling on her arrancar robes. She dressed quickly, writing the wetness out of her hair before moving to stand with Ulquiorra.

"Let's go, it's almost dinner time," he said.

"Hai," replied Orihime. The two of them set off down the winding corridor with high-vaulted ceilings and gothic style windows.

"You may be interested to know that a small group of your little friends have invaded Hueco Mundo. Most likely in pursuit of you," said Ulquiorra tonelessly.

"Omigod! They're coming for me after all!" exclaimed Orihime. "I was afraid that everybody thought I was a traitor."

Ulquiorra nodded. "That was the idea, however, it seems a handful who know you well weren't persuaded. You shouldn't be quite so excited as you should be anxious."

"What do you mean?" replied Orihime. She glanced up at Ulquiorra's perpetually grim expression.

"They will all be dead soon. You think Aizen-sama will let any of them live after they invaded our territory?"

"My friends are stronger than you think!" snapped back Orihime.

Ulquiorra had grown quite accustomed to Orihime's volatile temperament. He simply scoffed and walked on in silence. She is very touchy about the subject of her friends, he noted mentally.

"I know Ichigo is coming. Probably Rukia and Sado, too! Ishida would come and save me," babbled Orihime.

A muscle in Ulquiorra's jaw twitched. "Let me assure you, woman, I will not for one moment entertain the notion that any of your friends will make it out of here a live. Consider yourself lucky that you will not have to witness any of these trivial executions," he said solemnly.

A swarm of angry thoughts ran rampant through Orihime's mind, yet she didn't speak a word. Whenever she held a conversation with Ulquiorra, the intensity of his speech and mannerisms was overwhelming. She wanted so badly to reject everything around her, to stay strong and not believe a single word, but she found such a thing impossible with Ulquiorra.

They walked down flights of pristine staircases and down winding corridors back to Orihime's cell in silence. Ulquiorra held the door open.

"You're wrong about my friends, I just know it," said Orihime defiantly before retreating into her bedroom.

Ulquiorra slid the door shut and locked the door. "I will be back in one hour with dinner. You had better be finished with your childish antics by then.

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**A/N: Please take the time to leave me a review and let me know what you think, I appreciate each and every one.**


	3. Breathless

**A/N: Here's a new chapter for those of you who are enjoying this!! Thank you for all the lovely reviews, they really make my day. **

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Ulquiorra watched Orihime pick at her meal, as per usual. "Why do you never finish your meals? I know for a fact that you are hungry," he said. 

Orihime blushed. "Um... I'm honestly not in the mood to eat," she replied. The girl picked up a piece of sushi and placed it in a row with several others.

"Is it because today I am ensuring you eat, and most times you just dump it out the window?"

Orihime didn't respond, but her cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink. She shoveled little piles of rice from all edges of her plate and patted them down with her chopsticks.

"Are you playing with your food?" asked Ulquiorra lamely.

"No, I'm making a smiley face. See?"

Ulquiorra looked at Orihime's plate to she that she had indeed crafted two eyes and a mouth using pieces of sushi, and rice sculpted into a perfect circle for the head.

"Interesting. Now eat it," commanded Ulquiorra.

"Just because I am a prisoner doesn't mean I don't respond to spices! Sushi tastes better with some paprika, and I sometimes like to cook my rice with strawberry glaze for flavor," chirped Orihime.

"That sounds repulsive," Ulquiorra commented. He watched Orihime's excited smile fade until she looked on the verge of tears again.

_The woman is also very touchy about her... peculiar taste in cuisine. She has a fondness for cooking,_ noted Ulquiorra mentally. He had been sticking around a for little while when he served Orihime's meals for about a week now, striking up conversations with the woman. She opened up to him so easily that he possessed enough information to ruin her in a matter of minutes.

"You must finish your meals, it is of utmost importance. You need all of your strength to perform whatever Aizen-sama asks of you," said Ulquiorra tonelessly. He pushed the plate closer to Orihime.

She looked up into his eyes and began to giggle, placing a hand over her mouth.

"What is so amusing to you, woman?"

"Whenever you speak... or even just sit there, you are so serious. Do you hear yourself? It's so funny!" said Orihime. "Have you ever laughed in your whole life?"

"At some point, yes. Quit stalling and eat your meal."

The espada looked pointedly down at the plate of food, then up at Orihime. She grinned nervously and popped a piece of sushi into her mouth. It was spicy lobster.

"Do you ever eat?" asked Orihime curiously. She picked up a small pocket of rice with her chopsticks and chewed slowly.

"I can if I so chose, but the high concentration of spirit energy in this castle fuels my appetite."

"But you enjoy the taste of food, yes?"

Ulquiorra tilted his head to the side. His emerald eyes were burning with intensity in the dimly lit room. "I do. Aizen-sama has arranged breakfast, lunch, and dinner with all of the espada. It is more of a social gathering, but the food is always good."

"That's so cute! You guys all eat together?" Orihime giggled. "Sounds like fun."

Ulquiorra suppressed a sigh. It was times like those when he missed Orihime being afraid of him and cowering in the corner of the room whenever he was around. He even missed her inane fits of rage and the projectiles she sent flying in his direction. But something deep, deep within Ulquiorra was warming up to her.

"It's time for me to go. I shall return tomorrow with breakfast," replied Ulquiorra. He swept across the room towards the door.

Orihime sighed and flopped down on her bed. She missed Ulquiorra when he wasn't there, even more so when other espada such as Grimmjow and Nniotra paid her a visit.

As Ulquiorra shut the door, Orihime rolled over onto her stomach and a small grin played on her lips. She looked up at the exit, not completely positive that she heard the click of the lock upon Ulquiorra's exit.

* * *

Orihime walked slowly down the stark white hallways of Los Noches, glancing around at the high vaulted ceilings and gothic style windows. She hadn't run into any arrancar since slipping out of her room. Orihime began to enjoy the change in scenery, wandering the calm, quiet hallways. The castle was like a maze that Orihime attempted to map out in her head, memorizing each turn she made or staircase she descended. 

Down on the lowest level, Orihime ducked back into the stairwell when she heard footsteps approaching. She peered curiously down the hallway just as Szayel approached his laboratory.

Orihime watched the mysterious pink haired espada enter the lab alone, arms laden with papers. Every time Orihime saw Szayel he had a devious smirk similar to Aizen's on his lips, and he wore silver glasses that gave him a scholarly appearance.

She followed the hallway a few hundred feet before stumbling upon what appeared to be the library. Orihime's eyes lit up with excitement upon seeing the rows full of books through the glass double doors. She slipped inside,

hoping to bring back some books so that her days in solitude wouldn't seem quite so horrific.

"Woman, how nice of you to pay us a visit," said Grimmjow. Orihime looked up to see a small grouping of espada lounged out in armchairs at the center of the library.

"Hey, er, Grimmjow!" Orihime replied, chuckling nervously in an attempt to act natural. Halibel was eyeing her curiously, where as Stark was practically undressing Orihime with his eyes.

Halibel set down her book on a coffee table. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was muffled by the high collar of her robes, and Orihime could make out remnants of a hollow mask on her tanned cheeks.

"I'm just... Taking a walk," said Orihime. She was still grinning uncomfortably, now wringing her hands together. "I stopped by here because I wanted to maybe get a book or two."

None of the Espada looked convinced. "Well, books from the human world are over on that shelf," replied Grimmjow, pointing across the room.

"Thank you," replied Orihime. He grinned as she bustled across the room, watching the muscles of her her legs and butt move under her tight Arrancar robes.

"I wonder if Ulquiorra gave her permission to wander around," mumbled Stark, who was also watching Orihime bustle across the room. She stopped at the black bookshelf and looked up and down the rows.

"Probably not, he wouldn't leave her side if that were the case," replied Halibel.

"Yeah, hmm..." Grimmjow rubbed his chin. "Hey woman, didn't Aizen want you locked up all the time?"

"Er, um..." Orihime froze, hand resting on the ledge of the book shelf. She turned on her heel and bolted out the door.

"Should we tell Ulquiorra?" asked Stark, detaching his gaze from Orihime's shapely behind back to Grimmjow and Halibel.

Grimmjow shook his head, grinning. "He'll find out sooner or later. It's funnier that way."

Orihime sprinted down the hallway, stomping up the staircase and hanging a quick right. She bumped right into an arrancar and fell hard on the tiled floor.

"Pet-sama!" exclaimed Nniotra. He folded his arms across his chest. Orihime scrambled to her feet and took a few steps back.

"Make sure to watch where you're going, woman," Nniotra said. "Now get down on your knees and apologize to me."

Orihime stood frozen on the spot. She bit down gently on her lower lip. She wanted to shake her head but her body wouldn't move.

"I said down on your knees," repeated Nniotra softly, taking a step towards her.

Orihime heard the rustle of fabric. She swiveled around to see Ulquiorra stranding at her side, looking melancholy, as usual, with his hand placed upon the handle of his zampakuto.

"She owes you no apology, Nniotra," said Ulquiorra tonelessly. He placed a hand on Orihime's lower back, sending chill up her spine, and pushed with enough strength to make the girl stumble forward. "Go, woman. I am going to escort you back to your cell this instant."

Nniotra stepped aside to make way for Ulquiorra, who walked swiftly down the hallway, leaving Orihime scrambling to keep up with him.

"Ulquiorra! I'm so sorry! You left the lock open, and I just though that I would take a little walk, I wasn't thinking, I can't believe-"

"Silence, woman," said Ulquiorra sharply. He continued to walk at a brisk pace down the winding hallways. Orihime trailed behind, struggling to keep up with his long, even strides.

"Are you angry?" asked Orihime shyly as the two of them stopped in front of the cell door.

Ulquiorra eyed her curiously. "Far from it. Get inside."

She slipped inside, looking back at Ulquiorra with hopeful eyes. He shut the door in her face.

"Thank you," Orihime whispered. She dragged her feet towards the bed, flopped down spread eagle, and sighed loudly.

She knew that Ulquiorra was fulfilling his duties to Aizen whenever he took a stab at conversation with her or stood up on her behalf. But Orihime truly wished that he did these things because he cared for her.

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** A/N: Please leave a review on your way out! I'll give you a cookie  
**


	4. Heart

**A/N: I'm pleasantly surprised to see how many people are enjoying this story! I have five or so already written and pretty much to whole thing outlined, so updates should come quickly.**

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"You are never to pull a stunt like that again. If I were not under command of Aizen-sama, I would have killed you on the spot. Do you understand me?"

Those were the last words Ulquiorra spoke to Orihime. Ever since her forbidden wanderings, Ulquiorra's thrice daily visits were as terse as they had ever been. He would never let it show, but Orihime was certain that she had pissed him off more than a little.

Orihime was lounging around on her bed. She rolled over onto her stomach and glanced around the dark room. The solitude of her cell in Hueco Mundo was irking Orihime the most it ever had. She ran her hands through her long, smooth locks of hair and sighed loudly. That was the most she had verbally expressed herself in days.

Just then, Orihime felt a rush of Yasutora's reiatsu, but it waned quickly until there was almost none left. His reiatsu, along with those of Renji, Uryuu, Ichigo, and Rukia, had been fluctuating a few hours ago, but she had never felt a spiritual pressure so faintly.

"Sado-kun!" she gasped. Orihime hopped off her bed and rushed to the window, gazing hopelessly out into the sea of white sand that stretched towards the horizon. She had no way of knowing what was happening out there.

Orihime began to chew on her thumb nail. Sado-kun must have been wounded in battle. But if her friends were all together, then surely one of them help him soon.

The cell door creaked open, snapping Orihime out of her paranoid daze. Ulquiorra entered the room with her meal, a typical caustic and cold expression on his facial features.

He walked briskly to the center of the room with a long, graceful gait that fluttered the tails of his jacket and made Orihime tense. Ulquiorra placed a plate of teriyaki with brown rice on the table.

"What's happening, Ulquiorra-san?!" whispered Orihime, moving to his side. "Sado-kun's reiatsu, it's so low that I can barely sense it!"

Ulquiorra glanced into her eyes, which were wide with concern and fear. Providing consolation, especially to a woman like her, was not his strong suit.

"This is war, woman. There will be losses," he said solemnly.

Ulquiorra placed a hand gently on her shoulder, staring directly into her eyes for a moment before turning towards the door. Orihime reached out to grab his forearm.

"Ulqui-chan, please stay here for a while. I'm Lonely," Orihime blurted out before she even knew what she was saying. She wrapped her arms around Ulquiorra's torso, holding tight and burying her head in his chest. He was so strong and toned, and surprisingly warm. Orihime squeezed harder because she knew he wasn't going to crumble.

Ulquiorra's upper lip twitched, and his abdomen grew pleasantly warm. He gently stroked Orihime's lower back for a moment before easing her out of the embrace.

"My name is Ulquiorra, you either address me by that name or by sir," he said tonelessly. "And it is of no concern of mine that you are unable to entertain yourself."

Orihime watched him walk out the door, taking care to lock up. She sank down onto her knees and started breathing heavily. Face in hands, tears slid from the corners of her eyes and rolled down her flushed cheeks.

Sighing deeply, Orihime picked herself up and glanced over at her meal. She slowly chewed a piece of chicken and frowned. There was no wasabi in the teriyaki sauce like she preferred. But nothing she ever ate in Hueco Mundo satisfied her appetite.

Yasutora's reiatsu had faded away completely. Still crying silently, Orihime bowed her head and began to pray. She prayed for the well being of the others, thinking especially of Chad and Ichigo. The redhead was stubborn and maybe smelled reminiscent of strawberries, but her passion for him was undeniable. She knew he was the front man of the Hueco Mundo rescue mission.

Orihime prayed that she could stay strong in her psychological and physical imprisonment, and perhaps come to terms with her fate.

She also prayed for Ulquiorra. He seemed to have no excitement in his everyday life besides watching over her, which was proving to be tedious and a nuisance for him. Orihime thought of his pale face with perfectly defined features, his shocking green eyes and tear marks similar to the ones staining her cheeks at that moment.

Orihime envisioned Ulquiorra in his tightly fitted arrancar robes, the white fabric clinging to his muscles. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to stem the flow of warm thoughts about him.

Ulquiorra probably had no idea how good looking he really was.

But the truth was that Ulquiorra wanted nothing to do with Orihime and he was forced to be at her side three times a day. He wouldn't even extend the slightest of comfort when her psyche was tearing at the seams.

Orihime hated him for the way he treated her like a rag doll, talked down to her, and felt no consequence for her feelings. Orihime stirred up as much hatred for the espada as she could, casting a shadow over her innermost desires.

* * *

Ulquiorra strode down the hallway at an even pace, looking straight again. After an hour or so of wandering the outermost halls of the castle, he was headed to the library for some reading, studying, anything to take his mind off of Orihime. It quite frustrated him how she managed to wedge her way in there in the first place.

The vision of Orihime's desperate and frightened yet lovely face had burned itself into Ulquiorra's mind. He may have tried to console her for the sake of Aizen-sama's assignment, but the woman appeared to be completely beside herself with grief.

"Hey Ulquiorra, have you heard the news yet?"

The raven haired espada spun around to see Grimmjow looming in the corridor behind him. "No, Grimmjow. Did we get fluffier towels in the bathrooms or something?" he mocked tonelessly.

"No, asshole. Although that wouldn't be so terrible," replied Grimmjow. He rubbed his chin, grinning. "Nniotra killed one of the woman's friends."

Ulquiorra took a step closer to Grimmjow. "How can that be? Aizen-sama ordered all of us to let the privaron keep those shinigami at bay."

"Well, Nniotra took it upon himself to take care of the problem!" Grimmjow laughed loudly. "Che, That little punk had it coming. He had the weakest reiatsu I've ever sensed. I would have gone with him, but Ichigo isn't even close to here yet. He's the only one I want to kill."

Ulquiorra frowned. A select few of the espada had blatant disregard for Aizen-sama's orders. It was no wonder that he was one of the most trusted.

Just then, Halibel exited from a pair of white double doors. She looked up and nodded at Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, setting off down the corridor towards the marble staircase that led to the espada's bedrooms.

"Halibel, have you heard about the human that Nniotra came across?" asked Ulquiorra.

She stopped walking and turned to face them. "Pronounced dead by Szayel three hours ago," the blonde espada replied. Her voice was muffled by the jacket covering the lower half of her face and, ironically, only the top half of her breasts.

"Told ya so!" yelled Grimmjow, pointing a finger at Ulquiorra. "You bastard, you don't know everything."

"Put your finger down or I'm going to cut it off," threatened Ulquiorra. He turned his head back towards Halibel. "Where is Nniotra now?"

"I wouldn't know. He ran off after the battle."

Ulquiorra nodded. He had a few more pertinent issues to deal with rather than exert his energy in matters of discipline that Aizen would be much obliged to deal with himself.

Grimmjow glanced back at Halibel, giving her a once-over. "I see you're heading to bed, Halibel, why don't you take me with you?" he growled in a low voice.

"You'll need to talk to Cirucci for that," she replied curtly. Halibel made her way up the stairs. Grimmjow watched her fine butt as she climbed the staircase.

He grinned and looked over at Ulquiorra. "She's got a point, ya know? Cirucci's a whore."

"Because that's such a change from all of the other trash that walks around here," replied Ulquiorra. He thought first of Loly and Menoly, Aizen's personal arrancar sluts.

"Isn't it convenient?" the teal haired espada grinned. "So when are you taking that woman back upstairs for another bath?"

Ulquiorra brushed by Grimmjow and made his way swiftly down an adjacent corridor. "No need to be such a fuckin' jerk, Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow called out to his back.

The fourth espada made his way towards the kitchen to retrieve Orihime's dinner. He was particularly disinterested in feeding her meals lately, considering what am emotional train wreck she was.

* * *

**A/N: As per usual, reviews and concrit are always greatly appreciated.**

**And just so you know, there's a whole lot more UlquiHime lovin' coming up in the next chapter!**

**By the way: Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it.**


	5. Voice

**A/N: I've been filling in hardcore plans for the rest of the story, and it's probs going to end up being really long. So I hope you all are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. As always, you reviewers are amazing. But if you are reading this and don't review, well, I'd really appreciate it if you'd drop me a few lines once in a while so I can see how I'm doing. Concrit is always helpful.**

**This chapter starts after Orihime bitch slaps Ulquiorra, for those of you who read the manga or watched subbed anime like I do.**

**Enough chatter, the UlquiHime lovin' starts henceforth:**

* * *

Ulquiorra suppressed a sigh as he walked through the stark white hallways of Las Noches. It was early morning, and he was heading towards Orihime's cell with breakfast. For the first time, the espada felt not a mix of boredom and curiosity, but dread in visiting the woman after experiencing firsthand her hot temper.

Orihime Inoue was the only person to land a solid hit on Ulquiorra and live to breathe a word of it. She wasn't the timid, defeated girl with little will to resist that he had perceived her as. She still had a fire burning within.

Ulquiorra still couldn't fathom the idea that she had smacked him, hard, on his right cheek.

"Going to visit Pet-sama, eh?" grinned Nniotra, falling into stride next to Ulquiorra. Only the top row of his teeth were visible when he smirked. The tall, lanky arrancar's hood made him taller than Ulquiorra by at least three heads.

The fourth espada nodded. "It's breakfast time," he replied curtly.

"Ah, and where's the desert? Or is she giving you that?" smirked Nniotra.

Ulquiorra ignored him and picked up his pace. Nniotra could be such a neanderthal, he and Yammy were on the same plane of thought when it came to women.

"Did you mention to her how that sap Yasutora died in one hit from me?" Nniotra asked. His smirk widened. "Also let her know that the rest of her friends aren't far behind."

"Aizen gave you specific orders to stand down, and you left to meet the shinigami regardless," Ulquiorra said tonelessly.

"What am I going to do, wait for them to come here and snatch that bitch from right under our noses?"

After knocking Nniotra into a wall with a flick of his wrist and a flash of green cero, Ulquiorra approached Orihime's room and rapped once on the door.

When Ulquiorra entered the room, Orihime was sound asleep in her bed. He could hear her slow, even breathing and see the synchronized rise and fall of her body under the white duvet.

Moving aside the previous night's tray, Ulquiorra noticed that the plates were spotless. So the woman could follow orders.

After setting down breakfast, Ulquiorra moved to her bedside. He reached out a hand and paused. Orihime's long, thick red waves of hair spilled around her peaceful face, rosy lips slightly parted. She murmured softly and rolled over so that she was facing the wall.

"Woman, it's time for breakfast," said Ulquiorra softly, returning his hand to his pocket.

Orihime blinked open her eyes, yawning quietly and pulling herself into a sitting position. She ran a hand through her hair. "O-okay, Ulquiorra-san," she replied meekly. Orihime wouldn't look Ulquiorra in the eyes as she slipped out of bed and took a bite of her meal.

"The chicken would be better if you added a little bit of peanut butter," said Orihime timidly, smiling a little bit.

"That's repulsive," replied Ulquiorra shortly. Chicken and peanut butter?

"You know I like fun food combinations," said Orihime. She tried to smile again, but it faded when she saw Ulquiorra still frowning.

"You will finish this plate in its entirety, the way it is now," commanded Ulquiorra. Orihime nodded, but didn't move from her position in the chair. She was silent. "Eat, woman."

"My name is Orihime," the girl finally spoke up, quietly. She peered at him uncertainly through her stone grey eyes.

Ulquiorra tilted his head slightly to the side, studying Orihime. "I am aware of this," he replied.

Orihime spoke weakly, "Can you call me by my given name? It would be really, really nice."

"You are not in a position to be calling the shots," deadpanned Ulquiorra. He swept across the room towards the barred window. His hands were stuffed deep in his pockets.

"Okay, I understand. I just thought it would be nice."

"Silly human girl," murmured Ulquiorra under his breath, loud enough for her to hear. He glanced over to see Orihime hug her knees to her chest.

Orihime peered at him through the bangs that had fallen into her eyes. Ulquiorra couldn't resist picking on her vulnerability.

"Last I heard, Ichigo was making his way deeper into Hueco Mundo," said Ulquiorra casually.

"Really?!" squeaked Orihime. She covered her mouth with her hand and slumped down a little bit. That foolish woman was awful at concealing her emotions.

"Yes. But he doubled back, because that Rukia girl got in over her head during a battle," replied Ulquiorra. He gazed at Orihime, viridian eyes burning through her. "How ironic, he blindly rushed here on your behalf, but instead chose to save that other girl."

"No, that's not true! Ichigo is still coming for me as fast as he can," shot back Orihime as she jumped to her feet. Ulquiorra scoffed.

"You truly believe that he's here to save you?"

Orihime studied Ulquiorra's expression, unable to decipher any emotion on his melancholy featues. "Yes, I do, Ulquiorra."

"He's here to battle. It's part of his nature, pugnacious and hotheaded. Eager to adopt any cause to fight," said Ulquiorra tonelessly. He turned back to the window.

"It's not true!"

"Do you think I have nothing better to do than come here to feed you lies, woman?" he replied softly.

"I just don't know! You just keep playing with my mind, I don't know what to believe! Can't you ever be civil to me?"

Ulquiorra grew tired of her insubordination towards him. He closed his eyes for a moment, and before she realized it, Ulquiorra shoved Orihime roughly against the wall. She felt the espada's toned body pinning her down, black fingernails digging into the tender skin of her wrists.

Ulquiorra pressed his lips flush against hers. It could almost be considered a kiss, had the action not lacked deep emotion. Orihime's stone grey eyes slid shut as Ulquiorra's mouth moved against her own. He bit down on her lower lip, eliciting a gasp from the redheaded girl.

The body holding Orihime down was surprisingly warm. She always expected Ulquiorra to be ice cold like his appearance and his attitude, frigid like everything else in the room. The espada slid him tongue into her mouth and titled Orihime's head back to deepen the kiss, and her fingers laced themselves in his inky black hair.

Orihime gazed up into Ulquiorra's cold, calculating glance as he pulled away. His features looked the same always, entrancing emerald eyes burning into her.

Her next advance took Ulquiorra completely by surprise. Orihime pulled his head down to her and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. Her arms were wound tightly around his neck. Ulquiorra continued to play along, though he was still in shock. The redheaded woman clung to him like she never wanted to let go.

Ulquiorra broke off the kiss once again and removed Orihime from his body. His lips prickled with heat.

Orihime's eyes were dark with wanting as she breathed heavily and gazed up at Ulquiorra.

The espada turned on his heel and swept across the room. "Finish every bite, otherwise I shall tie you down and shove it down your throat."

Orihime giggled, dirty thoughts racing through her mind. She shook her head and sat down on the bed. Ulquiorra ignored this, eyebrow quirking upwards as he exited the room and locked the door.

* * *

**A/N: Pretty please review on your way out!**

**BTW, I need a beta for this story because my bf doesn't like to tear apart and critique my work like it needs to be. Anyone up for it?**


	6. Quicksand

**A/N: Yay new update! I'm so proud, I've been writing a lot lately so they shall be coming about once a week or two. School has been hectic lately but I'm really loving this story so I'll keep at it since you guys seem to like it too.  
**

**Thanks v much to all of my awesome reviewers, especially those who take the time to R and R every time I update. The reviews and alerts make me smile a lot :D  
**

* * *

The kiss only set off Orihime's already frazzled emotions into overdrive.

Orihime sat quietly on the large white couch, fighting back tears. She had been sitting there alone for hours. The girl hugged her knees to her chest and buried her head, whimpering softly.

Orihime knew that she had to stay strong. But her friends' feeble attempts at rescue drained most of the hope from her. She even felt some resentment towards Ichigo, hate fueled by his actions of doubling back to save Rukia without a second thought as to her well being.

The door slid open, and Orihime immediately shot up and wiped her eyes. Ulquiorra entered the room holding a tray full of food.

"Here you go, woman," said Ulquiorra, setting down the meal in front of her.

"Thank you," replied Orihime meekly. She sniffled and reached for the chopsticks. Sushi over fried rice again.

Orihime knew that Ulquiorra's gaze was upon her. She knew that the the moment she locked eyes with Ulquiorra, her regained composure would melt away. As always, he appeared to be in deep thought. "Your friends don't understand."

"Understand what?"

The espada took a seat on the bed next to her. "The darkness... The apathy, and the hate that is growing inside of you," Ulquiorra said, still studying her features. He reached out a hand, one slender finger brushing up on Orihime's chin to draw her attention. "But I do. I sense it every time I see you."

Orihime glanced up at him, pouting. "W-what are you talking about? I love my friends, I don't resent any of them."

"Ichigo is still heading towards the exit, towards the helpless Rukia," said Ulquiorra quietly. "It's seems he has abandoned your rescue attempt altogether."

Orihime's stone grey eyes went dark and dull. "I won't believe it," she muttered, running a hand through her hair and nibbling on her lower lip.

Orihime tried her hardest to fight the horrible, nasty emotions brewing insides of her, but wouldn't subside the overwhelming jealousy, betrayal, and depression. Orihime knew that she must be a terrible person to feel those things about her closest friends.

Ulquiorra stood up, satisfied that he had gotten under her skin enough for one day. Ever since Orihime kissed him, the espada spent minimal time conversing with her, much to her dismay.

"Keeping your hopes for a rescue will only damage your soul more," said Ulquiorra. Orihime sighed softly and glanced up in his face. She felt tears roll down her cheeks.

Orihime pushed the plate away with her pinky.

"Do you want to play this game again?" asked Ulquiorra softly.

"I can't eat," she whispered.

Ulquiorra stood and watched her with mild interest. He could tell that Orihime was overwhelmed with grief. Force feeding her at that point would have been more trouble than it was worth.

He exited briskly, leaving Orihime to drown in her sorrows. The girl flopped down on her bed and stared up at the blank white ceiling.

The feelings of endearment she held for her close friends, especially Rukia and Ichigo, seemed to be long forgotten in her mind. Memories of sunshine, happiness, ice cream, shopping... It seemed like these things had occurred in a completely different lifetime.

Orihime felt nothing. For once, the numbing coldness of the floor on her bare feet didn't chill her body to the bone.

She sighed and lazily flicked a stand of hair out of her face. She wished that Ulquiorra's kiss was out of love, like she had hoped it was. Instead he was just trying to prove his dominance over her.

At that point, however, it didn't matter why.

All she wanted was more of Ulquiorra.

* * *

"Her weakness lies in the well-being of her close friends, especially Ichigo Kurosaki. She is very gullible and excitable when she isn't crying. Even then, her moods are temperamental."

"Anything else worthy of noting?" asked Aizen. He watched Ulquiorra with great interest. "How does she react in your presence, negatively or positively?"

Ulquiorra suppressed a sigh. "She seems not to disenjoy my company simply because there is nobody else around."

Aizen nodded, listening carefully. He was seated upon his great, white throne. A wicked grin was set on his lips.

"Great work, Ulquiorra," replied Aizen. "Now is the time for you to further convince Orihime to instill her trust in you. She is a very strong-willed woman, but a naive one at that. It should be easy for someone like you to elicit romantic feelings from her. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

"Yes, sir," replied Ulquiorra. His expression remained impassive but his insides squirmed. He wanted as little to do with Orihime as possible, but Aizen insisted on making this hard for him.

Aizen's smile curved up like a scythe. "Very good. Use any means necessary. Right now she is, needless to say, very lonely and suppressed, therefore vulnerable, and you seem to have some sort of charm about you," he paused thoughtfully, trying in vain to read any signs of emotion within Ulquiorra's grim expression. "You are the only espada I can fully trust to achieve this mission."

"It's an honor, sir," replied Ulquiorra. He bowed down in front of Aizen. "Is there anything else you will be requiring of me today?"

Aizen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Actually it would be a great help of you could fetch me Nniotra. It has been a while since he has updated me with information that I believe I requested on a daily basis."

Ulquiorra nodded his head. "I shall send for him. Good afternoon, Aizen-sama."

"You too," replied Aizen. He fingered the silky fabric of his red sash, watching Ulquiorra bow out quietly.

Ichimaru Gin sat grinning at his side. "I hope he doesn't fall for her. Every other male around here seems captivated by her innocence and beauty."

"I don't believe that Ulquiorra is capable of such thoughts about women. I've never seen so much as a glance at any of the scantily clad arrancar we have running around here. Then there was the time he almost sliced Loly in half because she was nagging him," said Aizen. He smirked at the memory.

"He does seem to deem most women to be trash," added Gin unenthusiastically.

"That's why I assigned him this mission over all my other espada. Ulquiorra can keep his emotions out of his business."

"Yes, Aizen-sama. You're right then," replied Gin. However his smirk widened slightly.

Ulquiorra exited the room and headed towards the lounge area. He knew that Nniotra could be found there, sitting in an armchair while either reading dirty magazines or jeering at some of the lesser female arrancar.

Aizen was a fool. Ulquiorra had sworn his loyalty in every conceivable way. He claimed to act on the man's every word, when in reality, he only did these things for his own well being. Building a concentration of power and wisdom under the protection of Aizen was a brilliant scheme.

Ulquiorra knew the day would come when he could break free and act on his own behalf all of the time, when he could stand on his own two feet and face anything that came his way. His alliance with Aizen was simply the culmination of a string of manipulations.

But this day would be one of opportunity, of dynamic change. Ulquiorra knew he was just waiting for the right moment.

Then he though of Orihime. Her gorgeous, flowing locks of hair and perfect skin. How her pouty lips puckered when she was frowning or deep in thought, and the way her onyx colored eyes lit up with unbridled excitement.

Ulquiorra was deeply frustrated by her lingering presence. Grimmjow was striding down the corridor towards Ulquiorra, much to his dismay.

"Ulquiorra, I haven't seen you much lately. Been spending all your free time with Princess?" asked Grimmjow.

"Hardly," replied Ulquiorra tonelessly. "I have more important matters to attend to."

"Che, whatever you say. So how is she? I haven't seen her since that day you let her go to the library," Grimmjow said, grinning widely.

Ulquiorra wasn't even going to dignify that with a response. He just continued to walk.

"I think there's a whole lot more going on then you're willing to admit," Grimmjow mumbled, raising his eyebrows.

* * *

Ulquiorra returned the following afternoon with two trays of food instead of one.

Orihime frowned. "You aren't going to make me eat both?!" she asked. "I'm sorry I gave you a hard time, I really am, but I can't finish both!"

"No, one is for me," replied Ulquiorra smoothly. He set down one in front of Orihime, and one for himself. "You seemed intrigued when I told you that I could actually eat. So I decided to take my lunch here."

"Won't you miss eating with Aizen-sama and the others?" asked Orihime.

Ulquiorra shook his head. He began to eat, picking up rice and placing it in his mouth gracefully and without spilling any.

He did everything with such elegance and perfection. Orihime sat opposite Ulquiorra, cupping a hand underneath her chin to catch the rice that would otherwise fall into her lap when she ate.

"Thank you for spending time with me," said Orihime softly. She wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, smiling innocently.

Ulquiorra looked up from his food. He saw Orihime's sweet, girlishly beautiful face glowing back at him. His heart beat sped up to twice its normal rate.

"It is my duty to watch over you, nothing more."

* * *

**A/N: Pretty please leave a review on your way outt**


	7. Defiance

**A/N: I don't have very much to say, except thanks for all the love I've been getting with reviews. It's amazinggg**

**So here's an update!**

* * *

Orihime appeared to be crying when Ulquiorra visited with lunch, which was not an unusual sight for him. He set down the tray and placed his hands back in his pockets. His fingertips ghosted over the black notebook.

"Thank you," whispered Orihime, picking up her glass of water and sitting back down on the bed.

Ulquiorra nodded. He knew that he had a mission to complete, so he suppressed a sigh and ran a hand through his silky, black hair.

"How are you feeling, woman?"

Orihime heard her mattress squeak as Ulquiorra took a seat next to her. "I guess I'm fine. Everybody except Sado-kun is still fighting..."

Ulquiorra nodded his head and closed his eyes.

Orihime sighed softly and leaned her head on his shoulder. "All I can do is sit here and see what happens. Like when you see a scary movie, and everybody does the exact wrong things. They go off by themselves, backtrack for somebody who is already dead," Orihime paused thoughtfully before continuing. "And act like a hero, trying to win a psychological battle with brute strength."

"I cannot say that I have ever seen a horror movie, but it seems to apply here," replied Ulquiorra tonelessly. He felt slight discomfort with Orihime's head resting on his shoulder, mostly because he longed to reach out and stroke her silky hair.

Ulquiorra chided himself for letting these urges affect him. For letting trash like Orihime get under his skin when it was he who was supposed to be under hers.

"I finally realized something important after living here for so long," said Orihime. She moved a hand from her lap and placed it on Ulquiorra's upper thigh.

The espada's hand twitched as he reached to straighten his hakama. "What is that, woman?"

Orihime took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and relaxed. "Maybe it is my fate to be here instead of on the battlefield. I mean, I may have started this war by coming here, but it was going to happen eventually... I bet it won't be long until the rest of Soul Society jumps into fight." She opened her eyes and a faint smile touched her lips. "Everybody has a destiny. Maybe mine is to be here suffering emotionally for everybody outside to suffer physically, but with a stronger cause at heart."

Ulquiorra was honestly impressed and a little bit aroused by her wisdom. He stood up, shaking her off of his body. "Very interesting. Now eat your food."

"Where are you going?" asked Orihime, sadly watching as Ulquiorra crossed the room.

"There are other matters I must attend to," he replied tersely.

The espada gripped the notebook deep inside of his pocket. He brushed his fingers over the thick leather cover, weighing the consequences.

Ulquiorra placed his hand on the doorknob, twisting it, before he stopped and turned to face Orihime.

"Come over here, woman," he said softly. "I need you to promise me something."

Orihime scrambled to her feet and crossed the room to stand before him. "What is it?"

Ulquiorra removed one hand from the depths of his pocket, holding out a black book. "If I give this to you, you need to swear that you will hide it under your mattress the instant somebody enters this room. Nobody must know about this."

Orihime squealed with excitement. "Thank you Ulquiorra-san, thank you so much! I promise nobody will find it!"

The force of Orihime's leaping hug almost knocked Ulquiorra back against the wall. Blushing when she realized their faces were only inches apart and her arms were wrapped around him, Orihime stepped backwards and took the book in her hands.

"I shall see you later this evening," said Ulquiorra. He watched Orihime flip through the notebook for a few seconds before departing. Her features were lit with unbridled excitement.

He had never seen somebody so excited over something as trivial as a notebook before. Not even an avid researcher like Szayel.

* * *

The first thing Ulquiorra heard when he visited Orihime the next morning was not the usual deep, even breaths of the soundly sleeping woman. He heard giggles and laughter.

Ulquiorra entered the room and saw Orihime scribbling in her new journal, smiling like crazy.

"Woman, what did I tell you about the notebook?" asked Ulquiorra. He set down the tray and glanced over at Orihime.

"Umm... I'm supposed to hide it..." She giggled, flipping a page before continuing to doodle in her black book. " But nobody besides you ever comes to visit me." Orihime paused to look up at Ulquiorra every few seconds, left hand moving rapidly across the page. Her tongue was poking out of the corner of her mouth.

Ulquiorra tilted his head slightly. What was she playing at? "That isn't the point, I ordered you to do something. You cannot ignore my orders."

Orihime continued to write. "I know! I just need to have some fun. I think you need fun too, Ulquiorra-san," she replied.

"Put it down," ordered Ulquiorra sharply. It was the closest she had ever hear him come to an exclamation.

Orihime's smile withered. She set the notebook down and carefully ripped out the page. She saw his expression, impassive as usual, but she could tell by the way Ulquiorra clenched his fists inside his pockets that he was irked.

"I-I'm sorry," Orihime muttered. Ulquiorra strode over and picked up the piece of paper.

It was a picture of himself drawn in sketchy, thick lines. Orihime had even rendered the details of the mask remnants encompassing the left side of his skull. Ulquiorra's heart skipped a beat. She had drawn his calm features with stunning accuracy, but on his thin black lips was the shadow of a smile.

"Do you like it?" asked Orihime hopefully.

Ulquiorra's hand twitched. He wanted so badly to tell Orihime that she was trash and her strangeness was immature and agitating. To crumple up the drawing and leave the room.

But his body had betrayed him again. "Very... Interesting. It surprisingly resembles me."

"I'm glad you like it," replied Orihime joyfully. "And I really am sorry about the notebook. I promise it will not happen again."

"I've heard this before woman, don't make me regret taking your word."

"I won't," said Orihime. She stood up and moved across the room to stand before him. Close enough that Ulquiorra was looking straight into her bright, hopeful grey eyes and her thick black lashes.

His heart was beating double-time. As Orihime continued to inch closer to Ulquiorra, thoughts raced through his mind. She was so sweet and innocent and alluring. But Ulquiorra couldn't allow her to distract him from his goals. He had to nip this strange, overwhelming attraction at the bud before he allowed it to consume him.

Orihime smiled and stood on her tiptoes to plant a peck on Ulquiorra's lips. All of his concerns and doubts melted away.

The smiling girl placed her hands on both sides of his face. Ulquiorra felt her part his lips with her own, and his viridian eyes slide shut.

The continued to kiss softly, his arms instinctually snaking their way around her slim waist. Ulquiorra could feel Orihime's large breasts rubbing gently against his chest as the urgency and passion of the kiss began to grow.

Orihime's hand fumbled with the zipper of his robes as the two continued to lock lips. Ulquiorra froze up when a couple of her fingers accidentally slipped inside of the hole at the base of his throat.

"I-I'm sorry," mumbled Orihime, eyes flying open. He had pushed their bodies apart. "Does that feel... Weird?"

"Very much so," replied Ulquiorra. He zipped up his jacket.

_I musn't let her get the best of me..._ Ulquiorra looked Orihime in the eyes. "I will not see that journal ever again unless you ask while I am in your presence. No more second chances. Is that understood?"

"Hai, Ulquiorra-san," replied Orihime simply. She watched him leave and frowned, sitting down in front of her breakfast.

The kiss had left Orihime in a daze for the next few hours. She would lie down and envision Ulquiorra's body pressed against hers, wishing that he would stay and keep her company.

But the espada was obviously uncomfortable with their blossoming attraction to each other. He ran hot and cold. One minute, Ulquiorra enveloped Orihime in a passionate kiss. The next, he turned away from her and walked briskly out of the room like it was day one.

Orihime thought about Ulquiorra's loyalty to Aizen. It didn't seem like that was holding him back, because Aizen had given him the absolute right to 'use any means necessary' to tame her. The conflict definitely came from within. Orihime wondered if Ulquiorra truly thought she was trash.

She sighed and brushed out her hair. It would be a while until Ulquiorra returned with lunch, so Orihime spaced out and lost herself in thought.

Maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to crack Ulquiorra's protective shell.

* * *

**A/N: ****Drop me a line on your way out, I really appreciate it.**

* * *


	8. Serenity

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, I rewrote this chapter a couple times before I could get it right. But I'm pretty sure you guys will enjoy it :D it's a really loooooong update.  
**

**Btw, is anybody but me super pissed off that new Bleach anime has gone into filler? Even Rangiku's boobs everywhere and a shitload of sake can't make up for how disappointed I am.**

* * *

Ulquiorra exited from Aizen's throne room and made his way down the shockingly bright white corridor. He always took the long way to Orihime's cell after each hot and heavy chat with Aizen concerning the woman. Each week it seemed like his involvement with Orihime grew by tenfold.

_"Orihime has complained to me about her restlessness. She has been a visitor here for quite a while now. A short walk each day would be good for her, don't you agree, Ulquiorra?"_

The fourth espada suppressed a sigh and veered up a marble staircase. The whole time Aizen spoke to him, instead of being rapt with attention, he found his thoughts drifting to the woman. The sight of her smiling warmly and giggling was burned into the back of his skull. When he closed his eyes he could almost feel the sensation of body pressed up against his own. It made putting up a front of relentless loyalty to Aizen-sama difficult.

Proving his subordination to Aizen to thicken the veil masking his true intentions was Ulquiorra's top priority. All other trivial matters had to come second.

But since they had started kissing... Something inside of Ulquiorra had woken up. For the first time in the longest time, he lusted. For the first time ever, he had a mind and body consuming attraction to another.

Maybe she was a distraction that he could allow.

By the time he reached Orihime's cell, Ulquiorra had worked himself into a bit of a frenzy. He threw open the cell door without knocking. Orihime was waiting patiently on the edge of her bed. The notebook was nowhere to be seen.

"I put it away as soon as I heard footsteps," said Orihime quietly, smiling. The room was much brighter than usual because in Ulquiorra's haste, he had left the door wide open and light from the hallway flooded the cell. She glanced over quizzically. Ulquiorra rarely rushed anywhere, all of his movements were usually so swift and calculated. "What's the matter, Ulquiorra-san?"

Ulquiorra crossed the room and gracefully swept Orihime onto her feet. Soundlessly, he closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her, arms wrapping around her waist and pushing their bodies flush against each other.

Orihime gasped as Ulquiorra's tongue forced its way into her mouth, sweeping across the roof of her mouth as his arms clutched her voluptuous body tighter. She ran her fingers through Ulquiorra's inky black hair and kissed back. Orihime moaned softly into the fourth espada's mouth, unable to contain her excitement at their closeness.

When the kiss broke off, Ulquiorra turned away with a tint of rose tainting his alabaster cheeks. How could he be so overwhelmed with emotion at the mere sight of her?

Noticing his discomfort, Orihime picked up Ulquiorra's hand and laced their fingers together. She planted a soft kiss on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist, still holding his hand.

"Ulqui-chan... I know you like me a little," Orihime said softly. "I want you to know that it's okay, because I like you, too!"

"Don't call me that absurd nickname, woman." Ulquiorra replied. However, he let Orihime linger for a split second before she pulled away.

"Ori-hime," the girl said slowly, enunciating each syllable. A hopeful smile touched her lips.

"Woman," Ulquiorra deadpanned. "Aizen-sama has requested that I take you for walks around the castle. We can eat our lunch elsewhere today."

_A picnic! How sweet!_ mused Orihime, keeping her romantic delusions to herself. The stoic espada was probably emotionally exhausted for the day.

"Oh, how exciting! Where are we going?" Orihime asked. Ulquiorra gestured for her to follow and the pair exited the room.

"You ask so many questions. Just wait and see."

Orihime was anxious to see more of Los Noches than just the espada showers, which were only a short walk away from her cell. Ulquiorra led her much farther than Orihime had ever roamed before.

"Where are we?"

"This corridor contains few arrancar bunk rooms. There are some training rooms down that way," he gestured to an adjacent hallway that was a little narrower than the main one that they traveled, "Directly underneath us right now is the kitchen," narrated Ulquiorra as they made their way down a particular large and commotion filled hallway.

Lower ranked arrancar silenced themselves and drew a path down the center of the corridor at the mere sight of Ulquiorra. A few even fell to their knees as he passed by. There were both male and female, all dressed in individually styled white arrancar robes. Orihime was fascinated by how many different mask formations she saw.

"You're like royalty here," Orihime whispered.

"It is a gesture of respect that is committed out of fear," replied Ulquiorra. After he said that, Orihime did notice some of the arrancar glancing up at the fourth espada with petrified shock written on their faces. It was understandable, though. Orihime had grown used to his immense reiatsu, but it was substantially greater than a normal arrancar's.

Once they had wandered through empty corridors for a few minutes, she reached a hand inside of Ulquiorra's pocket to pull his hand out into the open. Orihime giggled softly. Ulquiorra continued to walk straight at an even pace as she laced their fingers together and squeezed his hand, but his lower abdomen felt warm.

They made their way up shiny marble staircases and through stark white hallways with high vaulted ceilings for at least fifteen minutes before the pair reached the upper east tower of Los Noches. They didn't speak much, but Orihime was content just walking with Ulquiorra.

Orihime was nearly blinded by the room at the very end of the corridor. It was filled with windows that stretched towards the ceiling of the dome shaped space. The view of the desolate desert was partially obscured by opaque linen curtains dancing in the breeze. Sunlight flooded every inch of the white room, which had no furniture besides a white bench and an assortment of creepy potted plants with thick, thorny vines.

Orihime's grey eyes lit up with excitement when she saw the sunshine. Ulquiorra gave her hand a squeeze before he let go and gestured for her to walk into the sunny room.

Ulquiorra took a seat in the shadows and watched amusedly as Orihime took tentative steps into the room. The sunlight ignited the color of her vibrant red hair, drawing the illusion of a fiery halo around Orihime's head.

She looked even more beautiful in the natural lighting. Ulquiorra couldn't take his eyes off of the woman, who was closing her eyes and basking in the sunshine. She turned around and smiled at him as if he were the only other being in the castle.

"Come out in the sunshine, Ulquiorra! It will do your complexion some good," said Orihime.

Ulquiorra quirked an eyebrow downward and placed his hands deep inside of his pockets.

"Oh, I don't mean it in a a bad way! Your skin is very nice. It's soft. What kind of soap do you use, a moisturizing one?"

"You have been in my shower. You know what kind of soap I use."

"Oh yeah!" Orihime replied. The redhead sighed contentedly and lounged out on the bench. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Do not be thankful, I am fulfilling Aizen-sama's orders."

"You know you say that, but..." Orihime spoke pensively. "Don't you have your own aspirations and free will? Isn't it depressing just to act on order all the time?"

Ulquiorra's large viridian eyes were focused on how her pretty face caught the light so well. He wanted to confess his true intentions... But that timing didn't seem right. "You really do ask too many questions."

"Well I'm curious is all," replied Orihime. She sat up and patted the spot next to her on the bench.

A hopeful smile persuaded Ulquiorra to come out into the middle of the bright room.

"I love really sunny days when it's warm enough to go to the beach. It seems like last summer was so long ago..." said Orihime. She moved a little closer to Ulquiorra. "Things won't be the same. Especially with Sado-kun gone..."

"That is the reality of war," he replied. While Orihime's ignorance was endearing, Ulquiorra continued to gain perspective of how young she truly was.

"You're right." Orihime frowned, but nodded. "At least it it has have been fairly peaceful lately."

"You never know how long it will be before this all escalates." Ulquiorra sat with his arms draped over his knees, looking out into the desert that seemed to stretch endlessly out into the horizon. "Most of the other espada are excited to be able to test the limits of their strength, especially Grimmjow. Aizen-sama told me that he will be sending a handful of us to battle later on in the week."

"Well who will watch over me then?" asked Orihime.

"I may or may not leave," said Ulquiorra. "Either way... This fondness you have for me is unhealthy. If I am ordered by Aizen-sama to kill one of your comrades, I must oblige without hesitation."

Orihime closed her eyes for a long moment. "I know. But let's not think about all of that right now."

The girl rested her head on Ulquiorra's shoulder and enjoyed the warm rays of sunshine, contented with their closeness. Because each day she spent in Los Noches with him could be her last.

And if this experience taught Orihime anything, it was to savor what you have before it disappeared.

Ulquiorra wanted to open up to Orihime. To inform her of his plans to successfully thwart Aizen, and tell her just how well her existence in his life seemed to mesh in with all of this. But Ulquiorra kept the thick filter between brain and mouth that the stoic espada prided himself on having.

Partially to save himself, mostly to save Orihime.

* * *

Meanwhile, all of the espada save for Ulquiorra were seated at the long dining table where they took their meals daily. Everybody, including Gin, was waiting for Aizen to show up for lunch.

Yammy's dark eyes scanned the room, and he frowned, slamming his huge fist down with such force that some of the table settings trembled. "Where is Ulquiorra? He never eats with us anymore," grumbled the tenth espada.

"Well, it's interesting," said Gin. His trademark smirk widened. "Aizen-sama has convinced Ulquiorra to spend more time with little miss Orihime-chan. They take meals together now."

Nniotra scoffed. "He gets to spend way too much time with her. Right now I bet he's being an emotionless freak while a more suitable captor like me could be fucking her brains out-"

"Quit being a crude asshole," responded Halibel. She narrowed her eyes at him. Nniotra glared back, his lower lip curling with disdain.

Szayel subtly shook his head at Halibel. The scholarly espada felt extreme indifference towards the only female espada despite her staggeringly high rank.

"There's a reason Aizen-sama wouldn't trust you with something like that. You did kill that human," replied Stark.

"I almost killed that orange haired bitch Kurosaki but Ulquiorra stepped in," Grimmjow scowled. "I really wanna fight him again. Now I don't even have to wait to get a mission in the human world."

"The last time I was there, I saw this girl jumping rope," said Stark with a small smile. He yawned and stretched his arms behind his head. "It was hot even though she had pretty small tits."

Halibel narrowed her eyes again, but remained silent.

"You know who has nice tits?" Grimmjow whispered to Nniotra. "Princess."

The lanky arrancar's grin widened. "Hmm, we should get her a jump rope!"

Stark, who was half-listening, perked up and nodded at Nniotra. "I think we'd all enjoy that."

"One time Rangiku and I had a few drinks and I persuaded her to jump rope. Very hot," chimed in Gin. He smirked.

Everybody fell silent as they all felt Aizen's massive reiatsu preceded him. "Good afternoon," the ex-captain greeted, making his way into the spacious white room. He sat down at the head of the table. The brown-haired man surveyed his soldiers with a wry grin.

"Good afternoon, Aizen-sama," greeted Gin.

"I have some good news for all of you," said Aizen. He glanced up and down the table at his espada. "Since our intruders are being a bit more pesky than I anticipated, if they aren't put down in a few days' time, then all of you will get to show off your superior skills."

There were murmurs of excitement around the table. None more excited, however, than Grimmjow, who grinned maniacally at the mere thought of a good fight.

"As you know, I have been toying with the idea for a while. Things have almost come full circle," said Aizen. He turned to the pink-haired eight espada. "Szayel, how is the research on our intruders coming along?"

"I've already been running the statistics of the intruder's bankai abilities and general battle tactics," Szayel replied. His eyes glinted maliciously from behind his silver framed glasses.

"Great work. I will give out the assignments in a few days' time. So relax until then," said Aizen. He looked up and down at the top soldiers fighting in his army, unable to suppress a quiet smile. Even though Ulquiorra was absent, he was more than deeply involved in the battle already.

"This is going to be fun," Nniotra murmured.

* * *

**Reviews are very very much appreciated, as always.**

** I love hearing what you have to say.**


	9. Discord

**A/N: Here's a new chapter for those of you who are enjoying this**

**Thank you to readers and reviewers as always**

* * *

"Do you like living here? It doesn't seem to be too bad for the espada."

"I am indifferent towards it really."

"Well what do you do all day? Besides come visit me of course," smiled Orihime.

Ulquiorra continued to walk at an even pace down the corridor. Questions and Answers was Orihime's favorite game of recently. "I read books. Sometimes I train for combat, but not nearly as much as somebody like Grimmjow."

"Oh I think i've seen one of the training rooms before! Halibel was in there, she seems really skilled," said Orihime. "Although her outfit is a little bit strange..."

"Her strength surpasses even mine. She ranks higher up among the espada," replied Ulquiorra. Although his remarks were calculated and monotonous, Orihime knew he was being kind because he hadn't said anything snarky or sarcastic.

She reached up and brushed her fingers against the half-helmet encompassing the side of Ulquiorra's head. "So about this mask..."

"Yes?"

"How do you wash your hair with it in the way? Is the hair under the helmet greasier than on the other side?"

Ulquiorra chose to ignore Orihime's senseless comment, but looked over at her with a softened expression. "Have you had enough yet, Orihime?"

Her cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink. "Um... Yeah! I'm done. Thank you Ulquiorra-san."

As they turned a corner, an arrancar rushed to Ulquiorra's side. He was wearing tight white uniform pants and a sleeveless jacket. Orihime struggled to hear what he and Ulquiorra were whispering urgently about, but the shard of mask on the arrancar's lower lip and chin seemed to give him a bit of a lisp.

The fourth swore that he would meet up with her at the very end of the corridor, and she was not to veer off the path or talk to any arrancar. Otherwise he would lock her up for days.

Of the few things she knew for sure about Ulquiorra, he didn't give empty threats. Despite the compassion they seemed to share.

_"I will meet up with you in five minutes. Do not make me regret giving you some breathing room," he had commanded._

_"Hai, Ulquiorra-san," replied Orihime._

Orihime passed by a multitude of arrancar who lingered in the hallway, all of whom were fully aware of her status with Aizen. Her presence elicited nothing more than a few sneers and glares.

The corridors had much better lighting than her dingy cell, with rows of torches lining the walls in between each of the tall, open windows.

Orihime continued to walk slowly down the endless white hallways with high vaulted ceilings and gothic architecture, absorbing the surrounding environment. The main corridors seemed to be much more ornate, much like the espada hallway.

Suddenly, somebody shoved her sharply from behind, causing Orihime to stumble forward and catch herself on a door frame. She whipped around to see two older arrancar girls.

"Look here, Lolly, we have company!" jeered a girl with a shaggy, blonde hairstyle. She smirked malevolently. Orihime noticed a shard of mask covering her eye.

"Did you escape from your little cell, or did Aizen let you out to play for a while?" asked Menoly's companion, Lolly. She had dark hair that was up in pigtails and the same mask structure as her counterpart on the opposite eye, but wore clothing that was much more revealing.

Orihime straightened her posture. "Ulquiorra allows me to have some time outside my room now," she replied.

"How sweet! Looks like you've found his soft spot," replied Lolly. She shoved Orihime hard on the shoulder, causing the girl to stumble back again.

"Look how weak she is, what could Aizen ever need from her?" scoffed Menoly.

Lolly looked her up and down. "You know, Orihime-chan, only the strong survive here," she mocked. Lolly landed a jab to Orihime's abdomen, and the girl wheezed slightly.

"What do you want from me?" snapped back Orihime. Her eyes flashed with fear and uneasiness.

"Nothing in particular, we're just bored," replied Menoly innocently. "We want to help fight those little shinigami friends of yours that are wandering around the Forest of Menos, but Aizen is still allowing the privaron to deal with them!"

"Are they getting closer to the castle?" asked Orihime, keeping an eye on both of the girls.

Lolly burst out laughing. "Not for long!"

"What are you three doing?"

Orihime whipped around and found herself face to face with Szayel Aporro Granz. His hair reminded her of cotton candy, fluffy and pink, while his glasses gave the man a scholarly appearance. He had a malicious glint in his honey colored eyes.

She knew very little about the eight espada, apart from his affinity for scientific knowledge and research. Apparently, he lived in a giant laboratory residing somewhere within Los Noches. Ulquiorra had briefly mentioned some of his strange, intricate, and grotesque experiments...

"N-nothing!" stammered Lolly. "We were just... umm-"

"-Helping Orihime-chan here fit in a little better around here. Showing her the ropes," said Menoly smoothly. She gazed apprehensively at Szayel.

"Well get back to Aizen and find some way to serve your purpose," he commanded. "Useless whores," Szayel murmured, just loud enough so that they could hear.

Menoly and Lolly took off down the hallway, and Szayel rounded on Orihime. "What are you doing outside of your cell?" he asked sharply.

She was stricken with fear.

The way he glared at Orihime, so condescending and threatening, made the girl even tenser. "I, uh, I was allowed some time outside, you know, to help cure my restlessness!" she replied in a shaky voice.

Szayel took a step closer, and Orihime pressed herself against the wall to avoid him. "Personally, I see little reason to treat you with such kindness when it is obvious that Aizen only keeps you alive for the meager powers which you possess," he said darkly. Orihime couldn't break away from his gaze, and each word sliced through her like a zampakuto. "Now, now, I think it's high time that we pay a visit to my lab. I was just heading down there anyway."

"Excuse me, Szayel," said Ulquiorra. The eight espada looked up, frowning.

"Good afternoon, Ulquiorra," replied Szayel. He smirked. "What brings you here?"

Ulquiorra ignored him. "I'll be taking the woman back to her cell now."

"What is she doing outside, anyway?"

"I allow the woman outside of her room she was growing quite uncomfortable in confinement. Aizen-sama has approved of this."

"Of course he did," drawled Szayel sarcastically. "You're really stretching the rules for her, hmm?"

There was a rustle of fabric and a sharp slicing sound. Ulquiorra stood tall with his arm extended outward, zampakuto pointed at Szayel's throat.

"Do not question Aizen-sama's word, _octava_," said Ulquiorra coolly.

Szayel narrowed his eyes, hands on his hips. "You're so emotionally responsive today, Ulquiorra. Maybe spending time with that woman is bringing out your true colors," he replied sharply, shifting away from the sharp point of Ulquiorra's blade.

With one last menacing glance at Orihime, the espada turned on his heel and made his way towards the marble staircase leading into the dungeon.

Orihime turned to her ivory skinned guardian. "Thank you, Ulquiorra-san," she said.

"Didn't I tell you not to talk to anybody?" deadpanned Ulquiorra. He looked up into Orihime's face, her features were once again struck with nervousness.

Ulquiorra wouldn't let her influence him so heavily anymore. The espada suppressed a sigh. She was exploiting his weak points, not just to himself, but to the other espada.

"I couldn't help it, Lolly and Menoly were harassing me," replied Orihime. "Then Szayel came... He's freaky!"

"I'd assume that all of us arrancar must seem strange to you. Based upon how strange I find you to be," Ulquiorra replied. He watched her lips pout. "I mean, you aren't really strange... Just... Unique."

Orihime grinned widely. "Aww, thank you Ulqui-chan! I think you are just lovely too. I mean, at first I was really afraid, but you are actually very nice looking."

Ulquiorra tilted his head in confusion. His eyebrow quirked downward, making him seem curious, yet caustic. "Nice looking?"

"Oh! Well, yeah..." a crimson blush crept onto Orihime's cheeks. She looked up into Ulquiorra's eyes and smiled.

Orihime stood up on her tip toes to press her lips gently against Ulquiorra's.

He flinched.

"Not now," he mumbled into Orihime's mouth. He pressed his hands down on her shoulders.

Orihime grinned timidly, still blushing, and led the way back towards her cell. Ulquiorra knew every inch of the castle by heart, but didn't stop the girl when she wandered in the wrong direction. Some more time outside of her confinement couldn't hurt.

Ulquiorra walked by her side, trying to gather his thoughts. She looked so wildly afraid when he pulled his zampakuto on Szayel. He had almost forgotten what naive creatures humans were.

As much as Ulquiorra and Orihime's attraction for each other sparked brightly, he was an arrancar and she was a human.

Orihime wanted fun, careless days running around outside and retuning home later to cook her repulsive yet endearing food concoctions.

Ulquiorra wanted to spill blood.

It was just their natures.

When they finally returned to the room, Orihime sighed softly and stepped into the darkness. Ulquiorra stood in the door frame observing her.

She kissed him again. Ulquiorra felt lightheaded and as pleasurable as this indulgence was, he couldn't continue on like that.

Ulquiorra was succumbing to emotion more and more each time he locked lips with the gorgeous redheaded girl. She was more of a distraction that he ever could have imagined. Nothing good could come of it.

It took more strength than he would have wished to pull back.

_I cannot stand the weakness..._

"Woman, I am your captor, and a soldier in Aizen-sama's army. My duties are to murder the shinigami with whom you are affiliated and to keep you subdued as a captive."

She hadn't heard those painfully truthful responses since her arrival to Hueco Mundo. Orihime bit down on her lower lip, running a hand through her smooth red hair. "I know."

"Aren't you afraid?" asked Ulquiorra. "I've killed thoughtlessly and violently throughout my entire existence. It is all that I know."

"You are the one who's afraid," replied Orihime weakly. She cleared her throat. "You don't know how to let go. Something inside of you warmed up to me... I can tell." With every word she spoke, Orihime built up a passion and strength in her voice similar to when she did the last time her temper flared. "... And I feel for you too! We can work out the rest, I just want to be with you!"

His ego was still scorned from the memory of Orihime's palm across his cheek. Ulquiorra's hand twitched as he reached to straighten his hakama. "Nothing here is different. You need to get it our of your head that there was something between us, it was nothing more than a game of curiosity and domination. I will not disappoint Aizen-sama and I will continue to fulfill my duties free of distraction," said Ulquiorra tonelessly. His emerald-eyed gaze bore into her. "If you do anything to divert this plan, you shall suffer the consequences. Is that clear?"

"But-"

"Silence," interjected Ulquiorra. He shoved her, hard, on the shoulder so that Orihime stumbled backwards onto the bed. She couldn't tear her fear stricken gaze from Ulquiorra's entrancing eyes. "I am not human. I do not feel sensual emotions for humans. Your romantic delusions stop here."

He turned on his heel and left abruptly. He walked out and didn't stop even though his heart was bleeding out on the floor of Orihime's cell.

When he didn't return with dinner that evening and was an hour late for breakfast the next morning, Orihime was certain of two things.

1. He wasn't acting entirely under Aizen's orders, and

2. He might have been serious about their feelings for each other.

Orihime sighed deeply. Maybe it _was_ just her imagination...

She felt like a fool for really believing that she could find love during her imprisonment in a somber and horrific place like Los Noches. Especially with the stoic cuatra espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer.

* * *

**Please leave a review on your way out!**


	10. Atonement

**A/N: I can't believe I started writing this in the beginning of January. I haven't stuck with a story this long since... Well never probably! But I love writing this and people seem to enjoy reading so it works.**

**Also, the person who agreed to beta for me seemsto have disappeared off the face of the earth... So anybody up for the job? PM me**

* * *

Orihime moped around her cell, much like her first few weeks upon arrival. She sighed and sat on the couch, brushing out her hair, or stared up at the crescent moon from behind a single, barred window. The feelings of imprisonment and hopelessness came back with a vengeance just as fast as they had disappeared.

Things with Ulquiorra had gone horribly, irreparably wrong. A small nagging feeling in Orihime's gut had always told her that Ulquiorra's compassion was too good to be true. She had it on pretty good authority that he was truly and utterly turned off.

The fourth didn't show up with dinner the previous evening, and breakfast was two and a half hours late. Ulquiorra was always punctual about schedules. He arrived everyday within five minutes of the same time. Orihime began to anxiously bite her fingernails.

The door finally creaked open. The red-headed girl jumped up, heart pounding against her ribcage. Orihime had a lot to say. So much had been building inside of her since the confrontation with Ulquiorra. Orihime wanted to apologize, she wanted to promise him that she would behave however he wished. Anything, as long as he would still come watch over her.

As hard as it would be to stand next to Ulquiorra without even holding his hand, she would suffer for her own insolence.

But instead of the ivory-skinned fourth espada, Grimmjow entered the room.

"Grimmjow!" she gasped. Orihime stared blankly at the sixth espada. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your fucking business. I come and go as I please," replied the teal-haired espada. He unceremoniously dropped her food tray on the small white table.

Orihime folded her arms across her chest. "Where is Ulquiorra-san?"

Grimmjow smirked maliciously, eyeing her with interest. What happened to the docile, afraid little Princess he was used to?

"Also none of your fuckin' business. When did you start to talk back?" replied Grimmjow. He allowed more of his reiatsu to leak out unrestrained, towering over Orihime with his arms folded across his toned, scarred chest. His cut-out espada jacket showed off his wonderfully sculpted upper body.

Orihime felt the spiritual pressure smothering her. Though she tried her hardest to show no signs of weakness, a wince was prominent on her delicate facial features. Grimmjow smirked with satisfaction.

"Is Ulquiorra-san coming back? Please, I need to know." whispered Orihime desperately.

Grimmjow knew damn well that Ulquiorra was on a simple, one day recognizance mission. That bastard always got the fucking missions. But feeding on Orihime's obvious vulnerability seemed like the fun thing to do.

"He may never come back. Not to this dump, anyway," replied Grimmjow offhandedly, looking around the small, dark cell. He noticed Orihime's frown deepen.

She sat down on the bed and sighed softly. Grimmjow leaned against a wall and watched Orihime. Even in her dismal mood, the girl had a strong sensuality about her. Skinny fame, large breasts, beautiful face, radiant hair... Every espada had noticed this upon her arrival, especially Grimmjow. _If she knew some of the things I want to to do with her, she'd scream..._

"Could you maybe, give Ulquiorra a message for me?" inquired Orihime. Without waiting for Grimmjow's response, she added, "tell him I'm sorry!"

"Wait, sorry for what?"

"Everything."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. This wasn't going anywhere.

He sat down on the ned next to Orihime, stretching out his arms and relaxing a bit. He had nowhere better to be. She also seemed to have something pretty interesting going on with Ulquiorra. Grimmjow loved getting dirt on the fourth as his weaknesses were few and far between.

"So what happened between the two of you?" asked Grimmjow. He arched an eyebrow, his teal colored eyes scrutinizing Orihime's every move.

The girl's cheeks flushed red. "N-nothing, forget I mentioned it!"

"Che! What did he do to you?" asked Grimmjow patiently. "Cause if he hurt you, lemme know so I have an excuse to pound that sorry fucker into the ground."

Orihime shook her head frantically but remained silent. She ran her hands through her silky red hair, feeling a familiar relief as the vibrant strands slipped between her fingers.

"Look, I'm not going to tell Aizen anything you say. To be honest, I hate that fuckin' bastard. So spill, Princess," said Grimmjow in a low growl. His patience was wearing thin.

Orihime was unsure of whether or not she should trust Grimmjow. He wouldn't rat herself and Ulquiorra out to Aizen, his displeasure for the man was obvious every time he spoke. But the fourth and sixth were sworn enemies.

However, Ulquiorra was emotionally numb. Completely unreceptive to her feelings. Orihime had been bottling all of her anguish in a manner similar to when she first arrived. She was certain that the tension would tear her in half this time.

"He hates me," Orihime whispered, so softly that Grimmjow had to lean closer to hear.

"He hates me, too. He hates the fuckin' world. Big deal," said Grimmjow offhandedly. But he saw the discomfort in her teary-eyed gaze and he understood.

"But... You love him! Don't cha?" declared Grimmjow. Orihime's lack of response said more than a thousand words ever could. "What a lucky bastard he is! Fuck!"

Orihime flopped back on the bed and sighed. "So are you going to be taking care of me from now on?" she asked.

"Hell if I know. I was surprised Aizen trusted me with something as precious as you even for an afternoon."

Orihime hoped Ulquiorra would be back, but didn't want to set herself up for disappointment. She wondered who would be his full time replacement. Hopefully anybody but Szayel or Nniotra, they were so creepy...

"That pale freak will come around to his senses," said Grimmjow. He got to his feet and gave Orihime one last glance. "Hang tight."

Frowning, Orihime watched Grimmjow walk out of the room, hearing the lock click as she was immersed in darkness once again. She let out a soft cry.

"If he doesn't sort this out, I'll beat the shit out of him just for being so blind," Grimmjow muttered under his breath as he made his way down the corridor.

* * *

Ulquiorra returned from the human the following afternoon world with a clear head and a plan.

In their brief time apart, he had missed the bursts of excitement, lust, anticipation, and contentment that Orihime elicited from him spontaneously. Emotions he had never experienced and actually missed being without.

Refusing Orihime was out of the question. His violent treatment of the gorgeous red-headed woman drove him insane with a horrible, nagging emotion he had also never formerly experienced... Guilt.

He wasn't ashamed of himself for falling for her. Ulquiorra was slowly coming to terms with the fact that they were drawn together like nothing else he had ever felt a pull towards. He was, however, guilty about how he had shoved her away and how his lies of spite had dripped with venom and animosity.

But he may have found a way to fix things.

Ulquiorra slowly approached Orihime's cell. He knocked once and pushed open the door.

Orihime was curled up in a little ball on her bed. "Grimmjow, is that you?" she murmured.

"No, I have returned," replied Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra?" Orihime unfolded herself, peering up at him through slightly bloodshot eyes.

He walked across the room and set down her meal before approaching Orihime's bedside. Ulquiorra placed one pallid hand on her upper back and traced small circles with the tips of his black fingernails.

His touch made her shiver.

"I knew you'd be back," whispered Orihime. She closed her eyes and basked in the sensation of comfort.

"I'm sorry," said Ulquiorra. He suppressed a sigh. Humility did not come naturally to him. "I was wrong in my assumptions."

Orihime peered up at Ulquiorra through stray stands of hair and smiled. "Really?"

The melancholic espada nodded and continued to gently massage Orihime's back. She rolled over face-down on the bed. Ulquiorra's hands drifted down to rub her shoulder blades.

"You know, I really don't care what you are or where you've been. You're all I have right now," murmured Orihime. She hadn't slept for countless hours and was quickly dozing off.

"Good to know," replied Ulquiorra. He had played this over in his head a million times. "It is past time that my inhibitions be shattered, but I must move under the protection of Aizen-sama. it is the only way. Giving off a front of relentless loyalty is of utmost importance."

"I understand, he will protect you. And then you can protect me." Orihime was smiling peacefully, grey eyes shut. Her face was a vision of perfection, peach skin and soft features with not an ounce of tension.

Ulquiorra continued to gently rub Orihime's back until she was sleeping. He planted a kiss on her forehead.

Standing up slowly as not to disturb Orihime, Ulquiorra left the room, glancing back once at her sleeping form.

Grimmjow was walking down the corridor towards her cell when the two passed each other. "Oh, Ulquiorra. So you've already been in to visit Princess?"

The stoic espada nodded his head. "The woman is back in my care now."

"Oh, you love that, don't you," Grimmjow smirked knowingly. "She was a wreck without you. Been giving her some special treatment?"

Ulquiorra's features remained impassive. "You are repulsive. The woman clings to me naturally, I am the only one she typically comes into contact with," he said tonelessly before brushing by Grimmjow. "I find it to be quite irritating."

The fourth knew that his walls must be up at all times. He brushed by Grimmjow and continued down the hallway.

The sixth smirked knowingly. He didn't fully believe Ulquiorra. There was more going on than met they eyes.

* * *

**Please leave a review on your way out, I appreciate each one of them**


	11. Passions

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and favs! You guys are really awesome :D**

**Things are moving at a good pace, but It's almost up to the part in the anime where the shitastic filler comes in so I'm not exactly sure whats gonna happen next. They'll either have to animate faster or I'll have to update slower. Because this story deviates from the exact plot its easier to improvise, but I want to somewhat stick to what actually happens.  
**

**Also, thank you to whitehitsugaya for looking this over for me.**

**One last side note: for those of you who are Death Note fans, I have a fic and I would love conrit  
**

**Here's some awesome new UlquiHime hotness and some other plot stuff too**

* * *

Ulquiorra, in one of his rare moments of peace, sat in a corner of the library deeply immersed in a book entitled _Quantum Physics_. Between caring for Orihime and serving missions for Aizen he had fallen behind on his readings. Ulquiorra had quite a knack for acquiring knowledge.

Stark ambled over and took the seat next to him. Being one of the few espada who Ulquiorra was content engaging in conversation with, his presence didn't bother the fourth too much. "'Ey, Ulquiorra. How's it going?"

"I'm catching up on some of my studies," replied Ulquiorra. The melancholic espada glanced up at Stark. His facial features looked so disinterested and nonchalant that his expression bordered on boredom. Stark's hair was long and dark, but much more matted and unkempt than Ulquiorra's. "How about yourself?" asked the fourth.

"I'm doing great, thanks," replied Stark. He set down a small stack of books and put his feet up on a small, glass top table. "I just thought it was odd that you aren't with Orihime-chan. You guys getting along okay?"

"The woman is a bit of a nuisance, but I must deal with her because it is a direct order from Aizen-sama," replied Ulquiorra.

He was growing tired of repeating things like that. But the fourth most certainly didn't want anybody to learn about his deep compassion for Orihime. It would simply put her in danger while exemplifying his greatest weakness.

"Yeah well that's big of you," said Stark. "So have you taken her down to the kitchens yet?"

Ulquiorra looked up again, shockingly green eyes meeting stormy grey. "To the kitchens?" he repeated tonelessly.

"Yeah. You told me she always asks you to make her some really nasty food. I figured you'd just let her cook some of her own meals so she'd quit nagging you about it."

Watching Stark skim through a book of his own, Ulquiorra silently agreed. He could just imagine how elated Orihime would be if he were to allow her to cook one of the meals that she was so adamant about.

"I don't go out of my way to cater to the woman's needs."

"That's true, she _is_ our prisoner," replied Stark. A smile touched his lips. "Although her friends are really going to get it. It should be interesting once Aizen-sama lets us fight."

"I feel no need to flaunt my powers until it becomes necessary. This is child's play. But I will follow Aizen-sama's orders and go to battle."

"That's the spirit, Ulquiorra." Stark got up from his seat, picking up his small stack of books. "See you at dinner?"

"I am still required to have dinner with the woman. But I will be attending the meeting tomorrow afternoon," replied Ulquiorra. Stark waved lazily and ambled away.

The stoic fourth espada returned his attention to the pages of mathematical equation and science theories.

Ulquiorra knew that he must tread lightly around the topic of Orihime to contain their secret. Luckily, a strong content filter between his brain and his mouth already existed.

* * *

Orihime obediently closed her eyes as she moved through the open double doors. "Can I open them yet?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes, you may."

Ulquiorra stood in the threshold of the kitchen, watching with amusement as Orihime's eyes lit up, her soft lips curving up into a grin. The girl glanced around the kitchen, which was decorated in a modern, edgy style with chrome appliances and white granite countertops. She ran her fingertips over the smooth surface with her eyes still darting around the room.

Orihime leaned over and opened one of the cabinets, grabbing a box of uncooked rice and some spicy soup base. She turned her head to look at Ulquiorra. "Am I allowed to make whatever I want?"

The espada found himself subconsciously admiring Orihime's shapely bottom through her tight skirt as she bent over. "Anything you desire," Ulquiorra replied, averting his eyes to her face. His tear-streaked, cocaine white cheeks were touched by the faintest hint of rose.

Ulquiorra took a seat at the small kitchen table and watched Orihime bustle around the kitchen gathering ingredients. She took armfuls of fruit and vegetables from the fridge and lined up a few different sized knives by a cutting board.

"Dinner will be ready in a half-hour," said Orihime in a singsong voice.

Twenty something minutes later, Orihime set down a bowl of soup and some tempura smothered in what looked like orange and strawberry sauce (there were still chunks of fruit floating around in it). Ulquiorra peered into the bowl. It smelled like bean paste soup, but upon running his spoon through it, there was steamed rice, bits of vegetables and what appeared to be some kind of raw fish.

Orihime glanced at Ulquiorra hopefully as she took a bite of potato tempura. He picked up his spoon. The soup seemed a bit more appetizing than the greasy, fruity plate of tempura.

Ulquiorra dipped his metal spoon into the bowl and swallowed down the lumpy, thick, spicy soup. He suppressed a gag. But the fourth decided to be docile and humor Orihime that evening.

The future was unfolding right before his eyes, and Ulquiorra knew that their days of relaxing and peace were numbered. The number of days until he was to fight the Orihime's nakama had diminished to two.

"How does it taste?" she asked nervously. Orihime rested her chin in her palm and watched Ulquiorra take a second spoonful.

Ulquiorra's expressive remained impassive as he ate. The soup tasted truly strange and bold, yet not entirely undesirable. Orihime's radiant smile and naive hopefulness contributed to this. "It is... interesting. The taste is enjoyable," he lied through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I'm so glad you like it! Red bean paste is my favorite, and I like it best in soup. I also like to add as many fruits and vegetables in as I can to make my meals more nutritionally balanced," said Orihime as she continued to eat. The red-haired girl popped a piece of broccoli tempura into her mouth. "You know... I really missed being able to cook. Back in the apartment I shared with Tatsuki, I made meals every day. She and I have almost the same taste in food."

Nodding his head once, Ulquiorra spoke tonelessly. "Things here are very different than in your normal life."

"I know. Until recently, I was completely miserable and home sick here. But lately things seem so surreal... It's like I'm not even a prisoner anymore."

"I give you much better treatment than a prisoner ought to receive," replied Ulquiorra. He picked up a piece of shrimp tempura with his chopsticks, popping it into his mouth and swallowing down the food quickly to achieve minimal taste. It was tangy.

Orihime leaned over to place a peck on Ulquiorra's cheek. "I'm glad we came to the kitchens, thank you! This made my day."

"You're welcome," replied Ulquiorra simply. Seeing Orihime's radiant smile was more than enough gratification for the strings he had pulled with Aizen.

* * *

After they finished their meals, Ulquiorra didn't usher Orihime back to her cell in a timely manner.

Ulquiorra had Orihime pressed up against the wall as the pair made out furiously. The espada's jacket was unzipped and hung loosely off his broad shoulders. Clutching onto Ulquiorra's upper body with all her strength, Orihime kissed him like she meant it. Her jacket was also unzipped, revealing the lacy black bra that held her giant breasts in place.

Their tongues tangled, hands roaming and bodies rubbing against each other. Orihime placed her hands on either side of Ulquiorra's face and moaned softly into his mouth. Nothing else mattered at that point to either lover, except the sparks of passion flying off of lips and fingertips.

Ulquiorra's hand slid up Orihime's smooth, slender thigh, pushing up her skirt until his fingers brushed against her cotton underwear. The tension and desire building up in Ulquiorra's body was quickly becoming overwhelming.

"What's the matter, Ulquiorra?" murmured Orihime the moment their lips broke contact, feeling her feet touch back down on the ground. The espada placed his hands deep into his pockets and let his gaze wander around the kitchen.

"Orihime, if we continue... I don't know if I could stop myself."

Orihime's eyes went wide. Every time her name escaped from the dark lips that she longed to kiss, it sent chills up her spine.

"You mean..." Orihime trailed off. She felt excitement and lust pulsing through her veins. Orihime could tell by the way Ulquiorra played with the cuffs of his sleeves and didn't look her in the eye that he was feeling that strange attraction, too. Her eyes traveled downward until they rested upon the large bulge in Ulquiorra's pants.

Orihime giggled. "I understand, Ulquiorra-san!"

She continued to laugh as the fourth turned away. He suppressed a sigh.

"You find this amusing?"

"Well, I've never really... You know, had that happen with anybody else before."

"Sometimes I forget just how innocent you are," replied Ulquiorra. He zipped up his jacket. "Shall I take you back to your cell now?"

"Okay," replied Orihime. After adjusting her clothing, she linked his arm with her own and they made their way out into the corridor. "So have you been with... You know, a lot of girls?"

"Over the years, I suppose so. No more irrelevant questions for now."

_"Hai,_ Ulquiorra-san," Orihime half-sighed. "One day when we go for a walk I'd like to see your room! I bet it's much nicer than mine is."

"My domain is not out of the ordinary. Asking Aizen-sama permission to bring you there would be problematic."

"True. But it's not like me and you don't always hang out in my bedroom, anyway," Orihime said brightly. Her cheeks flushed pink as she began to giggle softly.

Ulquiorra's upper lip twitched into the most subtle of smirks. "It is simply your place of captivity. You have minimal personal connection to the cell."

"If only we could paint the walls a pretty color or something..." Orihime saw Ulquiorra tilt his head pointedly, so she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Thank you for letting me use the kitchen today. One day you should let me cook for Aizen-sama and the espada."

"Arrancar may not require food as sustenance, but we still have taste buds," replied Ulquiorra.

Orihime smiled. "I will never not be amused with how serious you act all the time! It's adorable!"

The fourth was half charmed and half astonished by the redheaded girl's perpetual enthusiasm and optimism.

* * *

Grimmjow and Nniotra turned the corner just in time to see Orihime wrapping her arms around Ulquiorra's neck, planting a passionate kiss on his dark lips.

Grimmjow ducked back so that only his head was visible. Nniotra peeked amusedly around the corner, head right above his comrade's.

"Pet-sama and Ulquiorra?!" whispered Nniotra incredulously, placing his hands on his hips. A pink jump rope was dangling from his grip. "What the fuck!"

"Shh, you idiot, they'll hear us," said Grimmjow, elbowing the lanky arrancar in his gut. He was well aware how much more in their favor the situation would be if Ulquiorra didn't notice them just yet.

"Ow!" Nniotra shoved Grimmjow into the wall. "Watch it!"

Grimmjow growled and rubbed his arm, but decided not to strike back because his attention was instead fixated on the scene unfolding before them. "We wait until Ulquiorra leaves, then give Princess the jump-rope," murmured the sixth. He cringed as Ulquiorra gave one of Orihime's massive breasts a little squeeze.

Nniotra frowned. "But this is sickening. That should be me grabbing her sweet knockers! Or even you for that matter," he whispered vehemently.

Orihime gave Ulquiorra one last kiss on the cheek before departing into her room. The espada locked the door and set off in the opposite direction.

Grimmjow took a tentative step forward. He watched in silence until Ulquiorra took an ascending flight of stairs.

"What the fuck?" said Grimmjow. He knew that Orihime had a crush on Ulquiorra... But he never in a million years though that the stoic fourth espada would actually return any emotions...

"Should we go tell Aizen-sama?" asked Nniotra, placing a finger pensively to his chin. His smirk widened. "Or... Should we have some fun with this one first?"

"I like the way you're thinking," replied Grimmjow in a low growl.

Nniotra looked down at the pink jump rope in his hands. He shrugged. "While we're here... Let's go see if we can actually trick her into jumping for us."

* * *

**Please leave a review on your way out!**

**I really really appreciate each one**


	12. Deliberate

**A/N: Hokayy so I'm watching Bleach on adultswim right now... The bount arc is sucky, and animated poorly compared to the rest.**

**OH WELL enjoy the UlquiHime goodness. This chapter is a set-up for something freaking awesome so get on the r and r pleaseeee. **

**Massive thanks to whitehitsugaya for being a really awesome beta**

* * *

"Ulquiorra, as you know, I am sending a number of my espada to battle tomorrow. This group heavily relies on your involvement," said Aizen calmly. He smirked. "Ichigo Kurosaki is clearly the leader of the shinigami who have invaded our castle."

Anybody who didn't know the black void that existed in lieu of Aizen's heart would find his smile endearing. But Ulquiorra could see the malicious, violent greed harbored within the expression.

"I want you to stop him cold," he said calmly.

Ichigo Kurosaki... The orange-haired shinigami was one of Orihime's closest nakama. A first love of sorts, Ulquiorra had concluded from the way the woman had described their relationship.

The fourth stood up straight and nodded. "Yes, Aizen-sama. Consider it done."

"Thank you Ulquiorra. I put all of my faith into you for this mission," replied the ex-captain. Aizen leaned back in his marble throne and strummed his fingers against the arm rest, still meticulously watching Ulquiorra's every move. Something as subtle as the twitch of the hand stuffed deep in his pocket, to the slightest upward arc of his eyebrows. Aizen knew that Ulquiorra showed minimal signs of emotion.

But the stoic fourth kept his body perfectly motionless.

"It is an honor," Ulquiorra replied tonelessly, lowering his upper half in a subservient bow. "When am I to leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. You are to get a good night's rest tonight."

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

The loyalty of Ulquiorra's dialect flowed freely in their conversation, but he was already dissecting the phrasing of his lord's message. Scanning Aizen's exact words for some sort of loophole.

"Will you be requiring anything else of me today?" the emerald-eyed espada asked.

"Report back to me before you leave for the mission. That will be all."

* * *

Grimmjow watched from his position, obscured by a large, ionic style column as Ulquiorra exited Aizen's throne room. His melancholic features were as untelling as always, but the green-eyed espada was wringing his hands nervously together as opposed to placing them within the depths of his coat pockets.

He was truly frazzled.

Grimmjow smirked. For once, he had used Aizen's power to his advantage rather than completely rejecting his lord altogether. Aizen was malicious by nature and deeply enjoyed playing games. The sixth used this to his advantage in order to completely screw over Ulquiorra.

It was obvious by his distressed behavior that the fourth espada had been ordered to slaughter one of Orihime's nakama, a vital part in Grimmjow's plan. The teal-haired espada wanted nothing more than to gain the gratification and satisfaction of getting the best of Ulquiorra. And to date, every direct conflict ended in his humiliation.

But this time was different, thought Grimmjow. He had Ulquiorra by the heartstrings and he was ready to yank.

* * *

Ulquiorra roamed the corridors for the rest of the evening, with no particular destination or purpose. That in itself was very irregular behavior for the uneasy fourth.

Ulquiorra's mind was busy formulating a plan, thinking through details and weighing consequences. The predicament of his romantic feelings for the woman was growing deeper with each passing day.

Avoiding ichigo's death to spare Inoue from more grief and irreparable emotional damage was Ulquiorra's main objective.

Aizen's phrasing, 'stop cold', didn't necessarily mean kill. The order could easily be interpreted as Injure fatally or immobilize.

But would his actions of pity serve as evidence of his compassion for Orihime? The fact that Ulquiorra was assigned the fight Ichigo was a fairly good indication of the man's suspicion of his closeness with Orihime.

He could have assigned any of the three espada superceeding Ulquiorra in rank to defeat the front man of the shinigami resistance, but Aizen chose his favorite. The stoic black-haired arrancar who had easily defeated all of those who stood before him in battle.

Maybe his over-thinking of the situation was leading Ulquiorra to jump to unnecessary conclusions...

* * *

When Ulquiorra brought Orihime her dinner, he entered the room to see the red-headed girl jumping rope. Her oversized breasts jiggled up and down each time Orihime leaped into the air.

Ulquiorra blinked and tried to tear his eyes away. But mind over matter wasn't sufficient in such a situation. "Inoue?"

"Hi Ulqui-chan!!" greeted Orihime. She was smiling, cheeks flushed pink from exercise. "Nniotra and Grimmjow brought me this jump rope, isn't that nice of them?"

"Strangely so. Stop for now so you can eat your meal," commanded Ulquiorra. He moved farther into the room, averting his gaze as he instead focused on the food tray in his hands.

"Oh, alright," replied Orihime. She set the jump-rope carefully aside and took a seat across from Ulquiorra. "What's for dinner? Teriyaki _again_?"

"Don't get spoiled. Maybe one day you will return to the kitchen. If not, this food will sustain you."

Orihime pouted. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. But I've been good lately, haven't I? I don't want to cause you any problems. But ever since we bonded things have been super fun between us so I've had no reason to."

As endearing as it was, Orihime's rants were unnecessary. She used so many words to convey a small statement. But Ulquiorra had grown quite fond of the girl's mannerisms, to the point where it didn't irk him in the slightest.

"It is appreciated." Using his chopsticks, Ulquiorra picked up a pocket of brown rice and placed it in his mouth.

Orihime threw her vibrant locks of hair over her shoulders, sighing softly. She smiled up at Ulquiorra.

He wanted so badly to tell Orihime about his departure the following afternoon. But Ulquiorra knew that she would be worried sick. Possibly, if he could complete the mission in good time, Ulquiorra could return in the evening before she even knew that he had left.

Subduing the shinigami would definitely not be too time consuming of a task if he was close to the main castle.

"I have someplace different for us to walk to tonight. If you would like," said the fourth. His wide emerald orbs watched Orihime's smile curve upward like a scythe.

"Of course I'll go, it sound exciting," replied the redhead. She ate a couple pieces of teriyaki and took a long swig of water. "So where is are we going to go? Someplace I've never been... Hmm... Maybe to the training rooms?"

"That would put you in a dangerous position," he replied. "Enough questions about this, you will know soon enough."

Ulquiorra picked at his meal, although he wasn't hungry. Food didn't satisfy him in any way, neither the taste of it in particular or in the sustenance it would provide to humans.

With such a decisive night ahead of him, Ulquiorra's appetite seemed completely nonexistent.

_Tonight, _he mused silently_. Could very well be my last with Orihime on such positive terms._

"Well I have to talk a lot because you sit in silence most of the time," said Orihime. "And things are so confusing around here, how can I not ask questions?

Ulquiorra felt her foot nudge his own from under the table. After a brief hesitation, he nudged back, eliciting a giggle from Orihime.

"Words are not entirely necessary sometimes."

"That's true... I bet I could sit here in silence with you and still be totally happy."

Orihime was glancing up into Ulquiorra's wide viridian eyes. His perpetually sad expression was the same as it always was, but she noticed that he was tapping his fingers on the table. Ulquiorra never fidgeted.

"Is something wrong, Ulquiorra?" Orihime asked, her brows knitting together with concern.

"I am just restless. Today has been a particularly slow day," replied the stoic espada seated before her. Lies just flowed freely from his lips with no remorse as to their consequences. But lying to Orihime seemed a little different... Uncomfortable.

It must have been her radiant, innocent smile and trusting nature. It emanated submission and vulnerability. But her warm grey eyes held a deviant gleam in them when she looked at Ulquiorra.

The kind of look that one would only give to a lover.

Orihime picked up a piece of sushi. "Well it's been pretty exciting around here since I got that jump rope. Grimmjow used to come by just to rude to me, but this morning he and Nniotra dropped in for a couple minutes just to say hi. Although he is still totally creepy and greasy with an ugly smirk. I've also been getting my exercise in so that when it's summer I can wear a cute bikini."

Ulquiorra was unsure what exactly a bikini was, but if it showed off Orihime's body like the connotation of the word suggested, he would be okay with that.

* * *

**A/N: What chu guys thinkkk**

**Concrit and reviews are loved!**


	13. Release

**A/N: I'm so sorry for such a long wait, it took forever for me to finally consider this worthy of posting! There's also a lot of shit going on in my life… Including a little heartbreak but hell at least writing takes my mind off of it.  
**

* * *

"Where are we now? I've definitely never been so far-"

"Shhhh," Ulquiorra squeezed Orihime's hand, which was held loosely in his own. "You need to be silent, Orihime."

The redhead was so busy wondering where on earth they were going that she had completely forgotten. The pair had traveled up a few flights of stairs, so their destination definitely wasn't the kitchen or library, but it was also nowhere near the tower with the atrium. The hallways they wandered down had very dim lighting compared to the rest of what she had seen in Los Noches, although Orihime remembered that the showers she was permitted to use seemed like they could be somewhere near where they were headed.

Ulquiorra finally stopped in front of a tall white door. He dropped her hand and withdrew a key from his pocket.

When Orihime walked into the threshold of the room and Ulquiorra flicked on the lights, she gasped. The room was about twice the size of hers, but furnished quite a bit nicer. There was an actual wooden desk next to a matching bookshelf, and a large bed with a green quilt. The floor was carpeted and it felt strange to walk on after having become so accustomed to hard marble.

The room seemed to suit Ulquiorra. It was very simplistic yet oddly cozy... It was also the first time in a long time Orihime had seen a room with a any colored decor.

Once Ulquiorra pulled the door shut, the girl spoke quietly, still in awe. "Is this... Your room?"

"You had expressed desire to see my domain. I decided to entertain that notion. But I did not ask permission of Aizen-sama, that is why it is of utmost importance for you to remain quiet."

"What?!" exclaimed Orihime, causing Ulquiorra to press a finger to his dark lips. "Oh! Sorry... Did you really bring me here without his permission?" she whispered.

Ulquiorra nodded once. "Keeping something like this secret is to our advantage."

"So does that mean you're choosing me over him?" asked Orihime hopefully.

"It means that my plans to overcome his power are set into motion, and you fall into place along with them."

"Okay, Ulquiorra. I'm glad for that." Orihime's lips curved up in a small smile. She had learned to somewhat appreciate his serious nature.

Taking steps towards Ulquiorra to close the gap between them, the redhead never once broke eye contact. Orihime glanced up into the same wide emerald eyes that had once elicited fear and contempt from deep inside of her, but all that she felt in that moment was warmth and longing.

Orihime stood on her tip-toes to press her lips flush against Ulquiorra's. Her hands ran through his hair and traced the curve of his jawbone. Ulquiorra moved his mouth against Orihime's and parted her lips, sliding his tongue inside of her mouth.

When the kiss broke off, Orihime reached behind them to flick off the light switch. Standing in the darkness with her hands on Ulquiorra's shoulders and her eyes closed, Orihime breathed in his scent. It was fresh and boyish.

"What do you think of my domain?" asked Ulquiorra, curiosity getting the best of him.

Orihime loved when he asked her questions, especially about her likes and dislikes. It was such a completely alien concept to he stoic and supposedly emotionless espada when they had first met.

"It's cute! I'm happy here, its so much warmer and more comfortable than my cell," said Orihime, feeling Ulquiorra's strong yet lean body pressed up against her own. The feeling was intoxicating. "Thank you for taking me. You've done so much for me despite the consequences because we really care for each other."

Ulquiorra's unfaltering gaze was upon Orihime. "You could say that."

"... I want to be with you, I really do. I love you."

As soon as the words slipped between Orihime's lips, she squeaked and clasped a hand over her mouth. Ulquiorra probably thought that she was a silly, lovestruck sixteen year old.

Little did she knew, the fourth harbored similar feelings of compassion on some level. But Ulquiorra was convinced that he wasn't compatible with the term love... Such a thing was ridiculous for an espada.

Orihime was so pure and she exuded so much optimism and contentment. She was beautiful in both body and soul. All that Orihime yearned for was to be loved and cared about, both by her nakama and by her new found suitor.

Whereas Ulquiorra consumed souls for sustenance. He felt no remorse for his violent actions or any of the atrocities that he had committed. He was a warrior, not a lover.

Ulquiorra wanted very much not to taint Orihime and drag her into his world. It seemed like any further involvement, this would be inevitable.

"We are in the middle of a war. If things do not turn out the way you wish, I would not want you to look back and regret this," said Ulquiorra tonelessly. He reached a hand out, fingers lifting her chin so that they were gazing into each other's eyes. "Orihime, you are so young. There are others who are far better suited for you than I am."

"No there aren't. I've never felt like this before! I know you aren't human and I'm your prisoner but... We are here alone right now. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"It isn't that simple," replied Ulquiorra. He looked away as his mind searched for the right words. The moonlight pouring through an open window silhouetted a set of translucent glass bottles sitting on the sill.

Ulquiorra knew that he was being sent out to battle Kurosaki the following morning. However, he did not want to inform her. The passion and desire building up inside of him was accompanied by a pang of guilt at the emotional distress he had taxed on her.

"I should bring you back-"

"Ulquiorra," Orihime placed a finger over the espada's thin black lips. She glanced up endearingly at him through her large grey eyes. "I want you. And if you want me, then take me now. If you don't, then bring me back to my room and I won't ever bother you about this again. What do you say?"

"Are you quite sure?"

Orihime kissed Ulquiorra, biting down on his lower lip and placing her hand at the top of his thigh. She lightly grazed her fingertips over his semi-hard length.

Lips crashing together, Orihime and Ulquiorra kissed frantically. She ran her hands all over his upper body, carefully unzipping his jacket and tossing it aside. Ulquiorra wrapped his arms around Orihime and held her tightly as the pair stumbled backward onto his bed.

"Look how springy it is," said Orihime breathlessly, bouncing her body on top of Ulquiorra's.

The espada clenched his teeth. Ulquiorra was trying to fight back the desire building rapidly within him. Lustful feelings were not new to him, but the intensity of his need for Orihime was always startling.

Ulquiorra had fucked senselessly, but had not once in his existence had a longing for one being in particular. Ulquiorra never could have foreseen that it would end up being a human prisoner.

He roughtly pushed Orihime's body down on top of his own and he pressed his mouth flush against hers. Their tongues tangled and Orihime let out a soft moan of anticipation.

Her head was spinning. The young girl had few previous kisses in her life, but none were as passionate as that one. Despite his supernatural strength, Ulquiorra was taking care not to hurt her. During her stay at Los Noches glimpses of Ulquiorra's humanity tended to appear for a fleeting moment.

Orihime broke off their kiss and moved her lips to Ulquiorra's neck, carefully avoiding his hollow hole. She bit down gently on his alabaster skin and trailed kisses down his chest and abdomen.

As much as he enjoyed her slow and agonizing minstrations, the bulge in Ulquiorra's pants was swelling painfully. Especially as he felt Orihime's oversized breasts rubbing against it when her mouth reached his belly button.

A muffled squeak escaped Orihime lips as Ulquiorra lifted her up on his lap, their lips crashing together. It was quite an amusing sound in his opinion.

Nimble fingers playing with the zipper of Orihime's jacket, Ulquiorra paused briefly to makie sure that she didn't object. He pulled down until her soft breasts, which were held in place by a bra that was far too small, bounced out of their frabric imprisonment. The soft zip sound echoed in the silent room as his fingers eased it lower, until the fabric snagged.

"Ulqui I thiunk.. the zipper's stuck," said Orihime lamely. She tugged at the jacket, trying to slide her arms out of their tight sleeves. Ulquiorra's melancholic expression remained impassive as he attempted to unsnare the fabric.

Propping Orihime back on her feet, Ulquiorra stepped off the bed and unsheathed his zampaktuto. "Orihime, just stand up straight and relax. Trust me."

Orihime had never been so scared and aroused in her entire life. Ulquiorra's bare skin practically glowed in the moonlight. The muscles in his arm tightened as the espada carefully drew the sword at Orihime's throat, right where his hollow hole resided. Ulquiorra swiftly cut down through the fabric of her tight-fitting robes.

Sucking in her stomach slightly as the blade brushed by her abdomen, Orihime watched Ulquiorra. His bright green eyes were narrowed with concentration as he precisely brought the zampakutou lower down her body until her top was sliced neatly in two.

Ulquiorra sheathed his sword and placed it neatly on the ground. Stepping forward, He leaned into brush a soft kiss on Orihime's cheek, noses rubbing as his hands expertly untied the belt knotted at the redhead's waist.

Her crisp white pants fell to the floor. Orihime's cheeks were flushed crimson, and the coolness of the air reached her exposed body. Feelings of insatiable heat rushed across her bare skin as Ulquiorra's body drew nearer and completely closed the gap.

The espada's index finger brushed against a small tattoo, dipping into the curve between her stoamch and hipbone. His hands moved over the curves of her gorgeous body, fingertips ghosting up her spine and across her sholders.

Blushing, Orihime spoke softly, "So do I look okay?"

"Far better than okay," he whispered, dark lips barely moving as he uttered the words. Ulquiorra kissed Orihime urgently, his hands continuing to roam over her soft skin. The pair slid back onto the bed and Ulquiorra tore the fabric of her blue bra and tossed it aside. He had never quite figured out how they unhooked, and that certainly wasn't the time to learn.

Orihime gasped loudly as Ulquiorra's thumb rubbed against one of her nipples. Her reactions became increasingly amusing to the espada as he continued to play with both of her breasts, pinching, suckling and rubbing until the redhead body was arching into his. Orihime felt the extreme sensation of pleasurable heat growing in her lower abdomen, her longing was becomign unbearable.

Orihime fumbled with the knot on Ulquiorra's pants, shaky hands managing to untie his belt. She watchied with interest as the espada slid them off his sandals. Ulquiorra glanced up and noticed her staring and blushing profusely again.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh of course!" she replied urgently. "It's just… Well…"

"Yes?"

"You're naked!" Orihime blurted out.

"Well it's entirely necessary," Ulquiorra murmured in reply. Her innocence towards his form was particularly endearing.

Orihime averted her gaze. "Well I suppose so, but, it's not like I've ever…"

"You've never done this?" replied Ulquiorra. The red-head by his side nodded.

The fourth didn't know much about the anatomy or emotional implications of a human girl losing her virginity, but he could sense the nervousness in Orihime's tone for the first time since they started. He traced his fingertips up her smooth thighs and kissed her.

Timidly, Orihime's moved her hand across Ulquiorra's lap to stroke his hardened length. The espada reponses by easing their bodies closer and slipping a finger up inside of her.

Ulquiorra decided he should start out slow… But he wouldn't be truly satsfied with anything less than Orihime screaming out his name in pleasure.

* * *

**:fangirl squeal:  
**

**Review on your way out please**


	14. Illusive

**A/N: Some terrible things have happened lately, plus I'm going away to school, thus updates have been and shall be less frequent. Thank you for understanding.**

**Also thank you to all my readers/reviewers and to whitehitsugaya for beata-ing.**

* * *

A small noise escaped from Orihime's lips. Her sleeping form began to rouse from a deep slumber, arms and legs stretching as she yawned a second, louder time.

The girl rolled over and bumped into something soft and warm… Another body… A naked body!

"Oh my god!" Orihime yelped, falling backwards off the bed and tumbling onto the carpeted floor. She blinked a few times, arms folded across her bare chest. The shock of her first time waking up next to a naked guy wore off as Ulquiorra's radiant green eyes peered from over the top of the duvet cover.

"Orihime," he said gently. The espada slowly sat up, opening the covers a little while leaning over and extending a hand. "Good morning."

Orihime smiled and took his hand. "Good morning to you too, Ulqui-chan! I'm so sorry about before, I was really scared and confused-"

Ulquiorra gracefully lifted Orihime onto the bed and pulled her close, their lips crashing together. Memories of the previous night began flooding Ulquiorra's mind as he traced his fingertips over Inoue's soft, flawless skin. Black painted fingernails dug gently into Orihime's hips as he tightened the intimate embrace, lips still locked with hers.

Trailing kisses from her collarbone slowly up her neck, Ulquiorra took in Orihime's sweet essence. His dark lips pressed against her soft skin, teeth biting just harshly enough to leave red coloration blossoming on her flawless peach skin, until he reached Orihime's jawline. The girl sighed softly and drew their bodies closer together under the blanket.

Ulquiorra felt himself growing hard again as Orihime's lithe body squirmed against his own, her supple breasts pressed against his chest.

Countless minutes later, the pair grew still. Their position wrapped tightly under the covers reminded Orihime of burying herself in a sleeping bag and pretending to be a cocoon. When she whispered this to Ulquiorra, he had no idea what a cocoon or a sleeping bag even was.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd woken up to even a couple rays of sunlight illuminating the room. The sun seemed to warm the cool room, and unfamiliar sensation to associate with Los Noches.

Orihime snuggled deep under the covers and hugged Ulquiorra around the waist. She had never felt so contented during her imprisonment, maybe even in her life. The espada's nimble fingers played with her vibrant locks of red hair, black-painted fingernails gently itching her scalp.

"I have to leave soon, don't I?" murmured Orihime, lips brushing against Ulquiorra's bare chest as she spoke.

"You will go straight to the showers from here, then return to your cell," he replied.

Orihime sighed softly. "Okay. Then you'll eat lunch with me?"

Ulquiorra faltered, unsure if he would be able to return from his mission by then. "Just like everyday."

"Maybe you should sleep over in my room sometime, this is really nice…"

Ulquiorra looked down at his lover. Her face was buried in his chest, hair splayed around her like a fiery halo burning through the green duvet. His fingers ceased their idle ministrations.

The pair melted into their embrace, silent and unmoving for many minutes. It was the calm in the ocean's waves right before a storm, the fleeting peace before a catastrophe.

It was perfection, if only for a moment.

* * *

"Aizen-sama will be suspicious if I don't report back soon," whispered Ulquiorra, brushing his hand across Orihime's cheek. Her wide grey orbs fluttered open.

"Oh! Right, we wouldn't want to get in trouble like this…"

Orihime gave him one last peck on the lips before slipping out of bed. She gathered her clothes and began to dress, but Ulquiorra caught her by the waist when the girl was clad in all but her jacket.

Orihime felt her lover's semi-hard length pressing against her lower back. His nimble fingers traced circles across her abdomen, moving around the place where a tattoo was neatly etched above her hipbone.

"I've been meaning to ask about your tattoo," Ulquiorra murmured into Orihime's ear. His hot breath tickled her sensitive flesh in a most erotic way. "Did someone place it there for identity purposes?"

"No, humans get tattoos because they want to," replied Orihime. She chuckled at how silly Ulquiorra could be. Letting her body ease back into his, Orihime replied, "This one is a memorial for my brother Sora… See? His initials are inside of the star."

Ulquiorra peered over her shoulder at the tattoo. It was intricate and swirly, and the letters SI were indeed part of the design. The tattoo's scarlet coloration made it appear like wounds freshly carved into her skin.

Maybe Orihime wasn't all naïve innocence upon her arrival to Hueco Mundo…

"How did Sora die?" Ulquiorra asked quietly.

Despite having taken so many lives, the concept of death and a human's view of it would always be somewhat fascinating to him.

Orihime frowned. Her gaze drifted up at the ceiling. "He was turned into a hollow… And he lost all of who he used to be. I always hoped that he would find himself again, but I'm beginning think that he probably never will."

"Hollowfication of a human is a fate worse than death," replied Ulquiorra. Orihime nodded.

"I wonder if we used the Hougyoku on him… Would onii-chan become an arrancar like you and get back his human memories?"

"Orihime," he said her name softly, with empathy, "It is not impossible, however it is highly doubtful. You should never risk selling his soul to Aizen-sama for such poor probability."

The espada pressed his dark lips flush against Orihime's. He stepped back and helped Orihime into her jacket, sliding the bleached white fabric up her willowy arms.

"Promise me you will continue to hide the notebook well, okay?"

Orihime studied his perpetually melancholic expression. "Why now, of all the times you could have asked that?" she replied. The zipper of the jacket slid up over Orihime's breasts and rested just below her chin.

"Don't ask questions. Just promise me and don't go back on your word," deadpanned Ulquiorra.

"Hai…" murmured Orihime. She smiled widely. "I'll guard it with my life!"

"Good. Also promise me that, come what may, you should never submit to Aizen-sama's wishes. You can overcome this ordeal, Orihime."

"Why so serious?" she chuckled, glancing up into the espada's melancholic expression. He widened his eyes slightly. "Okay, I promise I'll stay strong. Now can we pleaseee get something to eat? I'm starving."

* * *

Ulquiorra brought Orihime to the espada bathrooms for her shower as if it were a normal day. He allowed no implications pass through his stony exterior, despite the chaos and discord that was certain to infuse with their lives.

Ulquiorra's final task before his departure was to inform Grimmjow that he was to escort Orihime from the espada showers back to her cell and bring the woman her meals. He wasn't quite sure what Aizen was playing at, as it would be just as easy to instruct a lower-level arrancar to relay the message.

Regardless, Ulquiorra left Orihime and made his way to Grimmjow's domain, calculating his plan of action for what was to follow.

He rapped his knuckles on Grimmjow's door.

"Who the fuck is it?" Ulquiorra heard the teal-haired espada grumble. He heard mattress springs squeak, followed by the sound of ascending footsteps.

"It is Ulquiorra," replied the fourth. Grimmjow swung open the door. The teal-haired espada was clad in his uniform pants and no shirt. The muscles of his ripped upper body clenched.

"What d'you want?" asked Grimmjow in a low growl.

"Aizen-sama has assigned me a mission today. You are to take Orihime from the showers and bring her lunch."

Grimmjow leaned against the doorframe. "From the showers, huh? Maybe I'll get a glimpse of Princess naked…"

A muscle clenched in Ulquiorra's jaw. "To enjoy preying on the vulnerable... You're complete trash," he replied, tone impassive.

Grimmjow yanked Ulquiorra into his room by the collar. The fourth immediately smashed his forearm into Grimmjow's, causing the teal-haired arrancar's grip to loosen enough for him to break free.

"What game are you playing?" Ulquiorra's eyes flashed dangerously for a moment. He placed his hands deep in his pockets, melancholic expression unchanging.

"The same kind of game you are playing with that woman," replied Grimmjow with a malicious grin.

Ulquiorra faltered for a brief moment, watching the other espada's every move. It was probable that he was bluffing.

"Don't fuck with me. I know all about you and out prisoner. Me and Spoon saw you guys kissing one day, and I heard the screams coming from your room last night… Did you guys have fun? I hope you fucked her really good, she seems like a right little slut-"

Ulquiorra's reiatsu flared dramatically and he flash stepped forward. A moment later, he had Grimmjow pinned against the stark white wall, their bodies flush against each other.

You'd best keep quiet, _sexta,_" said Ulquiorra calmly. "Whatever you know shall not pass by your lips or you will pay with your life."

Grimmjow grinned, he was finally getting some emotion out of the stoic espada. "Is that so?" he drawled.

The sixth found his body being crushed painfully into the wall by Ulquiorra's. Grimmjow struggled to break free of his iron grip, but it was to little avail.

"Don't make me actually finish this fight you've been picking all this time. I would destroy you in the blink of an eye."

Grimmjow fell to his knees, coughing. He looked up and Ulquiorra was gone, the only indications of his visit were the traces of thick reiatsu hanging in the air.

Snarling, Grimmjow picked himself up. He wasn't too terribly pissed, but the only thing that kept him from chasing down Ulquiorra was the satisfaction of getting under his skin for once. It was a step towards the conflict that Grimmjow lusted for.

Whereas Ulquiorra took satisfaction in the fact that he would be the one to deal with Ichigo instead of Grimmjow, the orange-haired shinigami's espada rival.

* * *

Determined to accomplish the task at hand, Ulquiorra flash stepped through the white corridor at an impressive pace. Kurosaki's reiatsu wasn't too difficult to locate, he was deep down in the chambers under Los Noches. At least three hours of navigating even when Ulquiorra used sonido.

The ninth espada Aaroniero's reiatsu had been fluctuating for some short period of time. He had obviously been sent to battle the black-haired shinigami woman, the invading group's weakest target. Ulquiorra couldn't sense her presence as well as Orihime presumably could, but was certain that the two were fighting.

Aaroniero's spiritual pressure spiked, then dropped until there was nothing left.

He was dead.

But by the feel of it, so was another of Orihime's nakama.

Ulquiorra paused for a moment, viridian eyes sliding shut as his body came to an abrupt stop. White coattails swished softly through the air before resting by his ankles. There was no way that the war's result would be a clean break like he had idealized.

* * *

**Remember, reviews make my heart smile.**


	15. Forlorn

**A/N: So college stuff is finally settling down(ish) after being super hectic at first, and even though I have a lot of assignments to do, I'm going to finish out this story :D  
**

* * *

Orihime finished up in the shower, drying herself off with a fluffy white towel before slipping back into her robes. She sighed and savored the fresh, lightly floral scent of her soap for a few moments longer, attempting to clear her mind.

Rukia's reiatsu had been frantic all morning. Orihime waited and felt for Ichigo's spiritual pressure to fluctuate, too, but it remained constant. Which meant that they weren't presently together.

It made Orihime extremely nervous to feel Rukia's reiatsu die down much like Sado's had. She still wasn't sure that she was really dead, but the dark-haired shinigami was certainly fallen.

Ulquiorra would know exactly what was going on, Aizen-sama trusted him above most others. But Orihime wondered if he would tell her the blunt truth or try to spare her feelings…

If two of her nakama had already engaged in combat then it was simply a matter of time before the espada were all sent to battle. She prayed that Ulquiorra would be spared of this duty in light of him caring for her.

No matter what the outcome of the battle, Orihime was fairly certain that the interesting relationship she shared with her captor would come to an end. After the previous night, however, entertaining the notion of such a thing made her chest tighten painfully…

Orihime exited the bathroom only to come face to face with la sexta espada.

"Hey princess," Grimmjow grinned, looking her body up and down.

"What are you doing here, Grimmjow?" asked Orihime, surprise and fear registering in her expression. She smoothed a hand through her wet tangles of hair.

"Aizen needs Ulquiorra today, so I'll be escorting you back to your cell. We all know you're naughty girl, sneaking off on Ulquiorra. And with him for that matter... The two of you just shouldn't be left alone."

Grimmjow smirked. Since Ulquiorra had left on a mission before he had really gotten the chance to heavily blackmail his nemesis, the teal haired espada would do his best to rattle Orihime's nerves.

Orihime's cheeks were flushed and she faltered under Grimmjow's intense gaze. Did he actually know what was going on between herself and Ulquiorra, or was this an attempt to uncover something?

"Oh, alright..."

They headed back towards a white marble staircase. As Orihime began to descend the steps, Grimmjow chuckled. He raked his sharp fingernails against the wall while smirking as the sound reached Orihime's ears and she visibly cringed. "You know, I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but... Wanna hear a little something about your friend?"

"Kuchiki-san?" answered Orihime, glancing up expectantly.

She was so easy. Grimmjow laughed manaically, the shards of mask on his jaw opening and closing with his mouth in a frightening fashion. "I should've tried a little bit harder to kill her all those months ago. She took out the noveno espada."

Orihime's eyes lit up. "Really? Rukia-san killed him?!" the redhead asked, feeling a bubble of hopefulness rise in her chest. So Rukia had been able to fight for herself! All of a sudden Orihime's harbored resentment turned to guilt at underestimating one of her nakama for such selfish reasons.

Orihime wondered if Ulquiorra would bring her to fully heal Rukia when he returned, even though she seemed impossibly far away.

"Sadly enough for you, she's sitting in Aaroniero's chamber impaled on his sword," added Grimmjow in a low growl. His devilish smirk widened.

Orihime frowned, eyebrows furrowing. "I can still sense her, she's alive."

"Right now she is. I'd suspect this one's gonna be really slow and painful… After all, there's nobody around to help her, is there?"

Ichigo's spiritual pressure was stronger than ever since the last time it had fluctuated, which Orihime assumed was during a battle. She knew for a fact that he would be backtracking to take care of Rukia.

But Orihime really didn't need anybody to save her. She was certain that Ulquiorra would take care of her better than any of her struggling nakama could.

Grinding her teeth together, the girl put up a facade of courage. "So where is Ulquiorra-san and when is he coming back?"

"I told ya, he's on a mission. Who the fuck knows when he'll be back!" replied Grimmjow sharply. The stretched out his massively jacked arms above his head and yawned. Orihime could see his fangs gleaming in the bright lighting of the white corridor.

They spent the remainder of the short walk in relative silence, save for Grimmjow's rude, snarky comments. The moment they arrived at Orihime's cell, the girl found herself pinned flush against the wall.

She flinched as Grimmjow's claw-like nails were brushing against the exposed skin on her neck, tracing up her jawline just hard enough to leave angry marks on her skin. Orihime held her breath and didn't dare move an inch. The homicidal fury that was omnipresent in Grimmjow seemed to have yielded to a more subdued amusement. His teal eyes narrowed as they unblinkingly watched Orihime.

"Now Aizen told me to lock you in here with lunch and immediately report back. But don't think you've seen the last of me," Grimmjow was now so close to Orihime that her body was flattened against the wall. He leaned in closer still, so that his rock solid chest was rubbing against her large, round breasts. His warm breath blew past Orihime's cheeks, lips only inches from her own. "Princess."

* * *

Orihime could barely touch her lunch. Despite not having eaten for a while, the anxious knots in her stomach made the mere action of trying to eat terribly painful. The redhead was sprawled out on her bed, messy hair splayed all around her face and upper body like a sheer curtain.

Tears slid down her cheeks even between her loud bouts of hysteria. Emotions were welling up inside of Orihime worse than she had ever experienced, fear for the well being of her nakama mingling with how badly she missed Ulquiorra.

Missing somebody shouldn't always be measured in when the last time you saw or talked to them, pondered Orihime. She sighed and her fingers slid over the white duvet, tracing the spot where Ulquiorra should have been. Missing somebody you truly love hurt as soon as you wish they were there to share something special.

Once a few hours had elapsed, Orihime made a conscious effort to pull herself together. Especially if Grimmjow would be arriving with dinner. She never wanted the sixth to see her in a state of such horrible vulnerability ever again.

Orihime ran her the brush through her silky waves of hair from root to tip with shaky hands, smoothing down the vibrant locks. Her hair had grown out to a length where strands almost brushed the small of her back.

Placing her blue, flower-shaped clips back in her bangs, Orihime sighed softly and her eyes slide shut. Her life was becoming abysmal again faster than her mind could comprehend. Head in her hands, the redhead's fingers entwined themselves in her hair.

Things would never be the same. Even if Ulquiorra returned, Orihime had a strange feeling that his hands would be soiled with the blood of another one of her nakama. Then where would that leave her heart?

Somewhere between undying devotion to the friends who put their lives on the line for her, and explicit passion for the hollow who captivated her so.

Orihime's fists balled around her hair, clenching tightly. Her scalp ached as she tugged but the pain was barely noticeable compared to the awful anxiety that wracked through her insides.

When she finally spoke, Orihime's whisper was so faint that it barely echoed in the large, dim space.

"Koten Zanshun."

_Tomorrow,_ thought Orihime silently as her attack faire slashed violently at the vibrant locks of hair around the collar of her robes, _I need to make a plan._

* * *

**Sorry it's on the short side... I need to set up for what happens next**

**Reviews make my heart sing.**


	16. Severed

**A/N: Three months? Utterly unacceptable! I know.**

**Hopefully the length and awesomeness of this chapter may get me some forgiveness?**

**Thanks for all the reviews and encouragement, by the way. I may have given up if it wasn't for all the support for this.**

* * *

Orihime ran her fingers through strands of fiery red hair that barely brushed against her shoulders. In the warped reflection of the tray that had held her untouched lunch, she could tell that her appearance reflected how estranged she felt without a curtain of hair billowing down her back and chest.

Strangely satisfied with the change, Orihime took another deep breath and tried to clear her head.

The redhead moved to the window, standing in the small pool of moonlight that shone through the barred window and reflected off of the cold marble floor. She hummed a quiet tune and pressed her hands to her chest.

Rationalizing all of the madness and misery that violently swirled through her world, the girl closed her eyes and kept her breathing steady as the wordless melody escaping from her lips filled the silence.

As well as dealing with the stress of Ulquiorra being gone for an unspecified amount of time, Orihime felt Ishida and Renji's reiatsu both take a turn for the worse.

They had been lightly fluctuating since the pair first went into battle. Together; Orihime had concluded from the closeness of where their spiritual energy was located.

She hadn't felt any trace of Sado since his downfall, and Rukia was barely alive, if even.

The only one of Orihime's nakama who seemed to be faring well was Ichigo. But it was only a matter of time before he ran into one of the espada Aizen had sent to battle.

The normal existence she had led for sixteen plus years no longer even seemed like it suited the person she really was anymore. Willingly standing in the center of a pristine marble confinement in the heart of enemy territory, aiding the enemy, loving the enemy…

Two halves of a whole were collapsing in on each other and Orihime wasn't quite sure where she stood anymore.

The quiet and shy tune picked up in volume ever so slightly. Words mumbled and uncertain, the raw sweetness of Orihime's voice seemed to combat the desolation swallowing her whole.

Orihime pulled out her small, black notebook from under the mattress and began to doodle. Her hand moved slowly and carefully to guide the ball point pen over the pristine white pages. A small, sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she continued to sing.

It was just a matter of time. Orihime was certain she wouldn't be bound to the confines of her cell for much longer anymore.

She wasn't sure how or where she would end up, but as long as she was with Ulquiorra it would be okay somehow.

* * *

Ichimaru Gin's face was half illuminated by the light of the computer monitors before him. His smirk was wide as ever, seemingly closed eyes glancing at the scenes unfolding before him.

"Little Kuchiki killed Aaroniero, eh Aizen-sama?" he murmured amusedly.

The brown haired man by his side made a disapproving noise. "He was careless and he paid with it for his life. But no matter," said Aizen. "Is she still alive?"

"Barely. I don' think she'd die right away if we left her there… Zommari went ta take care of it," smirked Gin.

"Good," Aizen replied simply. His eyes scanned the monitors, expression pensive. "Has Ulquiorra intercepted Kurosaki yet?"

"He appears ta be waitin' inside one of the chambers in the far west. Kurosaki should be passin' through soon enough," said Gin. He typed on a small, white keyboard for a few moments before an image of Ulquiorra standing atop a great staircase filled the largest monitor.

Aizen scrutinized Ulquiorra's appearance. His posture was upright, as per normal, perpetually melancholic expression typical. His hands were deep in his pockets. But the clever ex-captain noticed that his large, emerald orbs were glancing unfocusedly, which only occurred when the fourth was in a daydreaming type state.

"D'you think hes nervous?" remarked Gin. He turned partially in his chair to watch Aizen's expression.

"Obviously he has feelings for Orihime. It's safe to say that he's pondering every possible option that he has... I'm quite intrigued to see what he'll do next."

Gin turned back and folded his hands underneath his chin.

The chestnut-haired man smirked. "Hey Gin, take care of things in here. I'm going to pay Orihime-chan a visit."

* * *

There was a knock on her cell door and Orihime froze on the spot. Hurling the pen and notebook under her bed rather than taking time to tuck it between the mattresses, the last note of Orihime's song seemed to buzz in the silence.

The door creaked open slowly, and Orihime adjusted her posture and folded her hands in her lap. Hopefully Grimmjow wouldn't be as forceful as Ulquiorra had been about her finishing meals, because her stomach was still painfully clenching with anxiety.

Shock must have registered on Orihime's expression as Aizen entered the room, because the ex-captain smiled and spoke, "Surprised to see me, Hime-chan?"

"Um.. A little bit," mumbled Orihime. She watched each one of Aizen's deliberate and calculated steps as he crossed the room. His reiatsu was massive and smothering as it always was even though he was obviously keeping the spiritual energy in check.

"You have quite a lovely voice," he said. Even though Aizen was smiling in a way that emanated comfort, but Orihime could discern the selfish and malicious intentions behind every ounce of sweetness.

"Thank you, Aizen-sama," she offered softly, bringing her gaze to the floor.

"You've done something new with your hair," replied Aizen quietly as he ran his nimble fingers through the vibrant orange locks. Orihime nervously watched his impassive facial expression from the corner of her eyes, fearing what would come next. But his fingers moved to gently tilt her chin upwards so that their eyes were locked. "You look more beautiful than ever."

Holding back a grimace as the traitor smiled wickedly, Orihime spoke in a very small voice, "thank you…"

Aizen took seat on the bed next to Orihime. She felt his arm drape across her lower back. "I know I haven't asked you to perform your powers very much lately, but soon we may have a few injured espada. It pleases me that you're willing to obey without defiance."

Orihime clenched her jaw as Aizen brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes with the same seemingly effortless care with which he always regarded her. No matter what Aizen said, Orihime would go along with it because that's what Ulquiorra was doing, too.

"Yes Aizen-sama. I will heal whoever you wish," the redhead replied sweetly. She grew more nervous still as Aizen moved closer so that their bodies were seamlessly against one another.

"Someone with powers and beauty such as your own is worthy of being with a god," he whispered into her ear. Without hesitation, his lips were flush against Orihime's and her eyes were wide with shock. Aizen sensually ran a hand across her jaw line, cupping her face as their mouths moved against each other.

The kiss ensnared each of Orihime's senses and Aizen's reiatsu was so thick that it seemed to encompass all of her being. Through the haze she could barely concentrate on the feeling of a huge upward spike in Ichigo's reiatsu, and a flare from Ulquiorra as well.

* * *

The cuatra espada had to remove both hands from his pockets because the shinigami's attack was far more powerful than expected. The reiatsu of his orange haired opponent was that of a hollow.

The corner of Ulquiorra's lips twitched upward into the subtlest of smiles as he deflected a majority of the attack effortlessly. That single strike was no doubt Ichigo's full strength. There would be no further retaliation.

The dust cleared and Ulquiorra straightened his posture. His espada jacket was torn open, edges burned and charred. But his alabaster skin was still flawless, and the hole at the base of his throat was exposed to the chill of the chamber.

"You're only four?!" Ichigo spat in disbelief, eyes glued to Ulquiorra's tattoo as he held Zangetsu loosely in his arm. Fragments of his hollow mask lay scattered on the floor around his feet.

Ulquiorra slowly outstretched his arm, index finger pointing at Ichigo. A flash of blinding green light began building up at his fingertip.

It was clear to the cuatra what he had to do and how it should be done.

* * *

Orihime moaned quietly as Aizen's tongue slipped into her mouth, skilled hands easing their bodies closer. As much as her mind detested the ex-shinigami before her, the girl couldn't suppress the shudder that wracked her body as Aizen took her lower lip into his mouth and nibbled gently.

_Worthy of being with a god? He can't mean what I think he does! And why is Ulquiorra battling Kurosaki-kun, he's going to kill him just to keep Aizen's loyalty? He said there would be sacrifices, but he isn't really going to kill Kurosaki-kun knowing that he is one of my nakama! _Thoughts swamped Orihime's mind as the kiss finally broke off.

The chestnut haired man knew that she could feel the battle occurring, as could he. Aizen smiled reassuringly. "No need to be afraid, Orihime-chan. I can give you everything you could ever want here," he said sweetly, taking satisfaction in the horror struck and petrified expression Orihime could no longer conceal.

Her strength and composure were crumbling at its very foundation. Just as planned.

* * *

As Ulquiorra moved across the sand towards his gravely injured opponent, he tried to keep his reiatsu in check as much as possible. He knew Orihime had felt the fluctuations throughout their battle; they were far too familiar with one another for him to completely conceal it.

Ichigo moaned quietly in resignation. As Ulquiorra's shadow loomed over him and the shinigami felt his body being lifted off the ground by a death grip around his throat, it was obvious to him that he had failed Inoue.

The shinigami laid severely cut and bleeding profusely. Every inch of skin and black robe was shredded. Breath coming in shallow bursts, Ichigo fought to keep consciousness.

The monster who had captured his nakama was about to finish him off. He wasn't strong enough to protect her like he had promised…

"I'm sorry, Inoue," he murmured, coughing up a spray of blood that dribbled across his marred skin. "I love you."

Ulquiorra was slightly shocked at his last words, considering the certainty with which Orihime had described their relationship as so one-sided. Whether his words remained purely platonic escaped the espada.

He wondered how much significance such a thing would hold in Orihime's eyes…

* * *

"Ai-Aizen-sama, did you send Ulquiorra-san to battle?" Orihime asked, voice cracking. The desperation in her words was obvious.

Aizen stood up, straightening his robes and placing a soft kiss on Orihime's forehead.

"There will be losses in this war," the man replied. "However, Ulquiorra is one of my finest soldiers. It would be a waste to worry for his safety... Especially considering the weakness of his opponent."

Orihime bit her lip so hard she could have sworn it drew blood. Her fear for Ichigo's life far surpassed the concern she felt for Ulquiorra. At least she knew that he would make it out alive.

* * *

Without another moment's hesitation, the cuatra sank his fist through Ichigo's chest, in the same exact spot as his hollow hole. He watched the shinigami's hazel eyes widen, blood tricking out of the corner of his mouth. Sharply withdrawing his hand, Ulquiorra dropped the body.

Ichigo's spiritual energy rushed out of him and dissipated into the air surrounding them. Ulquiorra closed his eyes for a moment, placing his hands back in his pockets. He sighed quietly.

* * *

Aizen knew that Ulquiorra had delivered the final blow because Orihime's expression darkened, eyes sliding shut and shoulders wilting forward. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and it took all the willpower she could manage not to burst out into hysterics.

"I will send someone to bring you to me tomorrow. Good night, Hime-chan," said Aizen softly.

And he took his leave.

Orihime flopped back on the bed and every shred of sanity escaped her. She screamed until she felt her throat grow painfully sore from the raw emotion tearing its way out of her body.

Hands balling into fists around her short, choppy hair, Orihime moaned and rubbed her feet against each other. Restlessness plagued her, every minute she spent eagerly waiting Ulquiorra's return seemed to drag on for hours. Even though he defeated Ichigo, she longed for the only solace within the constrains of Los Noches' white walls… The only solace she had left in her existence.

Although Orihime didn't know if she would be able to look up into his viridian eyes the same way again knowing his hands were soiled with Ichigo's blood.

The girl began to cry hard again. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks and dampened the bed sheets. The hell... It was consuming all of her being. Orihime's abdomen ached terribly and she was certain her body would give out soon enough.

Once physical exhaustion caused Orihime to lie silently, at a little past midnight, the cell door creaked open slowly. A dark figure was silhouetted against the brightness of the hallway.

"Who is it?" mumbled Orihime, squinting to try and identify the shadow. She sat up in bed. Praying that it wasn't Aizen, or any of the creepy espada, she clutched the covers tight to her chest.

The footsteps drew closer. A cold yet familiarly soothing voice came out of the darkness. "It's me... Did I wake you?"

Orihime perked up immediately. "Ulquiorra-san! Where-"

"Shhh," he pressed a pallid finger to his dark lips. "I have returned from a mission which was of the utmost importance to perform flawlessly-"

"You killed Kurosaki-kun," sniffled Orihime.

Ulquiorra wordlessly took a seat on the bed, reaching out a hand and placing it on Orihime's body from atop her duvet cover.

"If I betrayed Aizen… he would have taken you for his own tonight. I won't let that happen no matter what the price."

Despite the repulsion and betrayal she felt, the redhead knew that their situation was so dire that the only way they could have a glimpse of hope at making it out together would require sacrifices, she may have to give up everything. Orihime pulled Ulquiorra into the tightest embrace of her life, tears spilling freely down the front of his jacket.

"You knew… About…?!"

"Aizen told me of his plans for you once this war ended," Ulquiorra nodded, averting his gaze. "I won't let him hurt you. I promise."

The espada threaded his fingers through her silky, cropped hair, deciding not to ask questions about the change. He nodded silently and pressed his lips gently to the skin of her neck.

The cuatra knew that if things played out the way his foresight calculated they might, there was a chance Ichigo's life might be spared. But the possibility was so vague that Ulquiorra didn't seem it worth explaining, for fear of giving Orihime any false hope.

Orihime eased her body back until the pair was lying on her bed. Face still buried in Ulquiorra's chest, she left out a soft sigh.

"You're the only one I need," whispered Orihime, assuring herself more than him. Her mind was hazy and her body was exhausted from grief, but sleep didn't come easy.

Small pangs of guilt wracked through Ulquiorra's insides. He held Orihime close and felt for her breathing to grow steady and deep, thinking the whole time about what the hell he was dragging her through because of their feelings for each other.

But there was no turning back for either of them anymore.

Ulquiorra loved how beautiful and peaceful Orihime appeared when she was sleeping. It was as if nothing could break through her tranquil exterior, none of the hell raging throughout any world could touch her through the thickness of the solace inside which she was veiled.

He pressed a goodnight kiss to her soft lips before letting his consciousness slowly ebb away.

She shed tears all night for the losses that she had already cut, tears for the ones she would surely have to cut soon.

* * *

**Reviews are much appreciated!**


	17. Breathe

**A/N: YES HOKAY so I finally planned out the next few chapters and I pretty much know how it's gonna end too… :D**

**This chapter is a special gift for all my loverly fans~  
**

* * *

Orihime hummed a happy tune as she tucked into her bowl of bean paste, orange chicken, and vegetables marinated in duck sauce over rice. The artificial sunlight that streamed through the ceiling windows ignited the fiery color of her cropped locks and brought a rosy flush to her typically pallid cheeks.

Playing with his food more so than eating, Ulquiorra couldn't draw his gaze away from the stunningly gorgeous being seated before him. She was truly in her own element bathed in sunlight with a smile on her face.

The redhead caught Ulquiorra's unblinking stare. "You're the best, Ulqui-chan," she said quietly. "Thank you for letting me cook and bringing me here again. One day when we live together I can make you food every day."

The corner of Ulquiorra's lip twitched upward into a smile. "There's nothing I want more."

"Me too. You're the love of my life, and I never want to be without you."

Ulquiorra slid his hand across the marble floor of the solarium, resting it atop her own. Orihime dropped her chopsticks inside of her bowl with a soft clinking noise.

"My ideal life would be by your side until the day you perish," he said tonelessly. "But keep in mind that our days of peaceful coexisting side by side are numbered."

"I know. But I'm not gonna think about it…" Orihime sighed softly. "I almost feel guilty being so happy with you while my friends are fighting and dying to protect me…"

Ulquiorra put his arms around Orihime's waist, softly pulling her onto his lap. His nimble white fingers moved to brush aside her fiery colored bangs. Their lips touched for a brief moment.

"You are in no position of power in this situation. Take not the weight of the world onto your shoulders," he whispered into her ear. "Feel no guilt in enjoying what you and I have while it is in existence."

"Let me see… Well you're an arrancar who kidnapped me, I'm a human prisoner of war, and chances are we're both going to end up dead."

Orihihme bit down on her lip. She leaned back, easing their bodies down onto the floor so that they were lying side by side. Ulquiorra laced their fingers together and kissed the crown of Orihime's head. His dark lips brushed against her forehead.

She wiggled upwards and kissed him. Orihime parted her lips and eased Ulquiorra's mouth open. Their tongues danced and hearts raced, the only sounds that could be heard were Orihime's soft gasps each time Ulquiorra nibbled on her lower lip or tilted his head to kiss her neck.

Both bodies settled into each other and laid peacefully for quite some time. The feeling of Orihime moving ever so slightly under his embrace, the satisfaction of knowing that she was by his side, was all that Ulquiorra could ask for.

"You can't ever leave me..." murmured Orihime. "I don't know how I would get by."

"I'm right here." He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, feeling the shallow curve of her hips beneath his fingertips

Orihime closed her eyes and tried to lose herself in the warm bliss surrounding her, but couldn't fully block out the plummeting and spiking reiatsu of both Renji and Ishida, not to mention the severe lack of spiritual pressure radiating from her remaining nakama.

Orihime let a smile touch her lips. "Let's live the next few days as if we could die any moment, please?"

"We will make our time the best it can be," agreed Ulquiorra. He nibbled gently on the outer shell of Orihime's ear, satisfied with the way her body wiggled against his own.

"Hime-chan… I never want to let you go…"

* * *

Ulquiorra stood in the hallways outside the private espada bathroom. Orihime twisted on the taps as he heard water flowing into the shower. Leaning back against the wall, Ulquiorra sighed quietly and stuffed his hands deep in his pockets.

"Ulqui-chan!" called Orihime. "Can you help me?"

"What's the problem?"

"I can't find the soap!" Orihime yelled back. She giggled. Ulquiorra heard the lock on the door click, so he stepped inside of the bathroom.

The dark-haired espada came face to face with a very naked Orihime. Ulquiorra could make out all of her gorgeous curves despite darkness of the candlelit bathroom. Orihime's body was soaking wet, hair plastered to the soft skin of her face and neck. She was an absolute vision of perfection.

Ulquiorra's wide eyes were fixed on large, supple breasts and hard nipples.

Orihime giggled again. "I've never seen you make a face like that!" She felt only the slightest bit embarrassed under his excited and surprised gaze.

"I've never seen you standing naked in front of me, soaking wet and without hair to cover you," muttered Ulquiorra in response. Orihime leaned into him, kissing his dark lips as the impact of their bodies slammed the door shut. His hands roamed up and down her slippery torso as Orihime's fingers laced themselves in his mess of dark hair.

The two wasted no time peeling off Ulquiorra's damp arrancar robes and tossing them aside. The shower was big enough for two people to fit with even some wiggling room to spare.

Ulquiorra stood and massaged shampoo in Orihime's short locks of hair as the flowing streams of water doused them both. Once he carefully washed out each remaining suds, he began to lather thick soap down the entire length of her back.

"Hey quit tickling me!" Orihime giggled, squeaking and wiggling as Ulquiorra's black fingernails raked down her sides over her protruding ribs.

"Quit being so cute then," Ulquiorra whispered into her ear.

Uquiorra's hands slid under Orihime's arms and began to rub soap sensually across her abdomen. His finger traced the outline of the tattoo that he had committed to memory and began to rub trails of soap higher until his hands cupped her large breasts

Orihime gasped and moaned as Ulquiorra's thumbs brushed against her nipples. He continued to play with one of her breasts as his other hand moved lower and rubbed gently against her folds.

"Ulquiorra," gasped the redhead, arching her back and squeezing her eyes shut as the dark-haired arrancar continued to play with her. He turned her body to face his own and began to bite and suck on her neck as his fingers slid inside of her.

She pressed her slippery body close as her hands brushed against his hipbones, leaning in to capture his lips in her own.

Ulquiorra moaned into their kiss as he felt Orihime's fingers wrap around his length. Her wet, slippery grip and slow pumps felt like pure bliss. As she began to speed up, Ulquiorra gently brushed her hand away.

Before Orihime knew it, his soft tongue was pressing gently against her folds. The hot, steamy water streamed down her back as Ulquiorra's fingers and tongue worked their magic on Orihime. She gasped and moaned, holding onto the showerhead for support as her vision became clouded over with unspeakable ecstacy. Her midsection burned with a tingling heat that grew until waves of pleasure washed over her body.

Ulquiorra softy bit the inside of her thigh and stood up. Orihime looked at him through eyes half lidded with lust.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, brushing his fingers across her jawline.

"Yeah, I've just never… You know," panted Orihime softly. She cracked a smile.

Ulquiorra hummed and smirked ever so slightly. His lips brushed softly against hers, tongue tracing along her lower lip. Orihime gasped with surprise as he effortlessly lifted her body up and against the cool tile wall of the shower, elbow supporting under her knee as Ulquiorra slid his length inside of her.

He groaned from the sensation of slowly pumping himself in and out of Orihime. She rocked her hips in time with each of his thrusts. His lips found their way to Orihime's nipple, biting gently as he thrust himself roughly into her.

"Faster," she panted. Orihime let another cry of pleasure escape her lips as Ulquiorra's finger found the sweet spot at the top of her folds.

Twenty heavenly minutes later, Ulquiorra was standing behind Orihime with his arms wrapped protectively around her upper body. His head rested gently on her shoulder and the redhead could hear his slow, even breathing. Orihime let the coolness of the tiled wall that she leaned against cleanse the heat still raging through her body.

Ulquiorra shifted gently to rest his hands on the soft skin of Orihime's hips and place the side of his head that lacked a half-helmet against the spot between her shoulder blades. He loved the feeling of her steady heartbeat echoing in his ear.

There was no possible way that he could ever encounter a creature so perfect and lovely in all of time.

* * *

Grimmjow and Nniotra stood outside the bathroom frowning at each other.

"It's definitely Orihime's shower time," confirmed Grimmjow. "But where the fuck is Ulquiorra? Did he leave her alone in there?"

"If he did, then we should be in there right now," Nniotra grinned widely.

"You can have your creepy way with Princess later, I need her to heal that punk Kurosaki so I can beat the piss outta him again," declared Grimmjow. He moved towards the bathroom door, pausing when he heard a deep moan.

Nniotra laughed quietly. "Guess we found Ulquiorra."

"Oh, nasty," commented Grimmjow. He grinned nonetheless. "Alright, let that bastard have his little fun. The way things are going we'll all be dead soon anyway."

* * *

**Alright back to plot stuff next chapter hehe**

**Please leave me a review on your way out!**


	18. Choke

**A/N: Hokay.**

**So this chapter is pretty long and dense, but it's probably one of the most vital chapters in the story.**

**We're getting so close to the end, feel the sparks of love and suspense flying through the air!!!! Muahahaha**

**Also thanks to whitehitsugaya for being the best beta ever, thanks to all my reviewers and readers, ect.**

* * *

After a shriek tore its way from her throat, Orihime stood frozen on the spot, fear constricting in her chest as the redhead's gaze wandered to the lifeless, mutilated body of the blonde arrancar who had attacked her.

Grimmjow smirked maliciously, obviously quite pleased with himself. "These skanks won't be giving you any more trouble," he growled.

Mouth slightly agape, Orihime strangled a second cry in her throat.

"Why do you look so surprised, Princess? I told ya I'd be back," replied Grimmjow with a wicked grin. He was quite possibly the only being, save for Kenpachi, that Orihime knew who got such a thrill out of the slaughter. The teal haired espada threw back his head with maniacal laughter.

Still speechless, Orihime concentrated on not looking over at Menoli's mutilated corpse. She could hear Loly stirring, and hoped Grimmjow wouldn't want to finish off the job, because she was already feeling quite faint from all the gore.

"Heal your face."

"E-excuse me?" Orihime replied shakily.

"Use your little fairies to heal the wounds on your face that are bleeding all over your robes, Princess," Grimmjow replied with a hint of irritation. "Stupid bitch," he muttered under his breath. The whole scenario was moving much slower than he preferred.

"Can I heal the others first..?"

"You fucking idiot! I will cero those cunts into a pile of ashes if you don't heal that big fucking gash on your face. It's ugly as shit to look at," snapped back the sixth. When a jet of blue light began gathering at his fingertips Orihime yelped.

"_Sotten Kisshun_!"

The severity of her injuries was rather low so the healing process was quick enough for even Grimmjow's taste.

Orihime gulped. "Thank you for saving me, Grimmjow," she said cautiously.

His eyes narrowed. "Why don't you do me a quick little favor in return, ne?"

"O-okay, why not?" replied Orihime shakily, having no idea what she just really resigned to.

Before she could even make a sound of protest, Orihime found her arms bound behind her back and a gag in her mouth. As she whimpered helplessly Grimmjow threw her over his shoulder, still laughing as he walked through the hole he blasted in her wall.

Orihime was quite afraid as she heard Grimmjow begin to whistle as if it were a casual stroll. There was no doubt about his violent tendencies but whenever he dealt with Orihime, the sixth just seemed to enjoy being terrifying and had rarely ever caused her bodily harm.

Whimpering as Grimmjow shifted her body weight, Orihime heard the espada snort. "Don't freak out, Princess. I'm just bringing ya back to see Kurosaki, that's what ya wanted, isn't it?

"Mmmph!" Orihime mumbled through her gag, eyes going wide with shock.

"Fuck if I let him die by that bastard Ulquiorra's hands," replied Grimmjow.

Orihime felt immeasurable joy rise up in her chest, she would be able to save Ichigo's life. His reiatsu was still fatally low but so far there had been no damage done to an extent to which Orihime couldn't revive.

After what felt like an eternity of being dragged along on Grimmjow's back, they emerged into the outside world, which was lit by artificial sunlight that was familiar to Orihime. He threw her to the sandy earth at the feet of the beaten and bleeding Ichigo, and hastily began untying her bonds.

"Do your thing, Princess. Heal the shinigami up so I can beat the piss out of him."

"Kurosaki-kun!" yelled Orihime as she scrambled to Ichigo's side. "_Soten Kisshun_, I reject!"

The golden healing aura erupted from Orihime's hair clips and encircled Ichigo's frail form. Grimmjow folded his arms across his chest and watched the girl's relentless concentration. No matter how many times he witnessed her healing ability, it still piqued his curiosity and captured his undivided attention.

"There's so much reiatsu soaking his wounds… it's not lifting," Orihime murmured quietly after a few minutes of silence. Furrowing her brows with concentration and exerting more spiritual energy, she could feel Ulquiorra's aura permeating her senses as she undid the damage he inflicted.

"I don't fuckin' believe it," commented Grimmjow offhandedly. He leaned against one of the walls that remained intact through Ichigo's beating. "Kurosaki's my bitch, my prey, and Ulquiorra had the nerve to leave his reiatsu all over and stab him on the throat."

"He said that he only does that when a battle interests him…" Orihime replied. But it made sense to her, not only were Grimmjow and Ulquiorra rivals, but his execution of putting Ichigo in a state that was near death but still alive was a move made solely for her own interest.

Orihime bit on her lower lip, relieved to find that her ability was beginning to tear away at the reiatsu infused wounds.

"Do you know what it means when an arrancar has a soul chain hole at the base of their throat like that, Princess?" asked Grimmjow. He spit, casually moving forward to stand over Ichigo and Orihime.

"No."

"Only two of the espada have that, Ulquiorra and Stark," replied Grimmjow. He rocked back and forth on his heels impatiently, watching Ichigo intently as if he would jump the boy as soon as he came to consciousness. "It means that he died of a broken heart."

Orihime remembered asking Ulquiorra so many time what the tear streak marks running down his cheek were symbolic of, who they were for and why. It started to make sense that once she cracked his stony exterior there was such a compassionate soul underneath. A being who wanted to love her madly and never let go.

Her musings were cut short as a groan escaped Ichigo's lips. His eyelids parted ever so slightly, Orihime could see the shine of the hazel orbs that laid underneath.

"Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime quietly. "Thank god you're alive…"

"Inoue," he murmured faintly.

"How much longer?" quipped Grimmjow. "I want him healed up full so this is a fair fight."

"I dunno," responded Orihime offhandedly. Ichigo's body resembled a human being much more that it previously had; the charred scarlet and black skin was slowly blooming fleshy and peach.

Ichigo groaned and began to clench and unclench his fists. His whole body was tingling as the excruciating, searing pain subsided. The smouldering reiatsu that soaked his wounds was lifting too. He opened his eyes slowly and watched Orihime. The redhead was putting every ounce of her concentration into his healing. To Ichigo she looked like an angel, her form illuminated golden through the healing aura.

"Your hair," mumbled the shinigami. "It looks nice."

A smile played on Orihime's lips. "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

Before he even entered the clearing, and despite is immense skill at masking reiatsu, Orihime could feel Ulquiorra flash stepping towards them.

"I should have known that you wouldn't be able to keep out of this," grumbled Grimmjow when the fourth espada stopped his sonido inches from Orihime.

"I am truly regretful that I allowed hard to befall you," he said so quietly that only one person could hear him. Orihime looked up to see his large green eyes smouldering with emotion despite his melancholic expression. "Please forgive me."

"Of course, Ulqui-chan," she replied with a smile. He nodded and flash stepped across the room, landing a solid punch to Grimmjow's abdomen.

"Fuck, Ulquiorra, you didn't come to screw around," the teal-haired espada choked out, having the wind knocked out of him for a moment. A huge grin touched Grimmjow's lips and he leapt forward. "I'm glad!"

Orihime could see the Ichigo's eyes open fully as his ragged breathing smoothed out. The orange-haired shinigami lifted his head slightly and looked across the cave to see the two espada swordlessly combating each other in a whipping swirl of white robes. He also noticed that the fight was drawing progressively closer to where he and Orihime were located.

"Inoue, I need to protect you…" With a small noise of strain, Ichigo sat up straight and attempted to crawl onto his knees.

"Sit down! Ulquiorra will make sure that no harm will come to us!" exclaimed Orihime, eyes going wide with shock. "If you truly appreciate me healing you then please don't get up until I'm finished."

Seeing the pleading look in her eyes, Ichigo resigned and leaned back on his elbows with a scowl. "Isn't he the one who captured you, the guy who damn near killed me?"

A rose tinted flush crept to Orihime's cheeks. "I'm in love with him."

Had Ichigo been at full strength, the intensity of his reaction would have been much larger than the shocked expression and strangled yelp. "What the fuck!"

"Please, Kurosaki-kun, there isn't much time at all," she replied, shooting a glance over her shoulder to the place where Ulquiorra and Grimmjow continued to spar. Both had yet to drawn their zampakutou, and Orihime could tell that her green-eyed captor was keeping the sixth busy rather than fighting with his full strength. "Just trust me. Ulqui-chan is going to help us."

Ichigo sighed. Orihime was right, there wasn't much time at all and he decided to just believe whatever it was that she told him and move on from there, no matter how bizzare the notions were. What other choice did they have? "Okay. Urahara-san told me some things about destroying the hougyoku."

"We can't destroy it! Aizen-sama said that if we do, then all of the arrancar will loose their transformations…" her voice trailed off as her grey orbs swept the cavern to rest upon Ulquiorra. The fourth dodged Grimmjow's double kick effortlessly and parried with a hard jab across the back.

"It's a lie. He said that the army will remain intact, Aizen was probably just dissuading you from helping Soul Society," responded Ichigo. To Orihime's skeptical expression, he added, "Inoue, if you want me to trust you, then you have to trust me too."

"Of course I do," she responded quickly. "So can I reject the orb using Soten Kisshun?"

Ichigo averted his gaze uncomfortably. "That's the only way we can be sure it'll be gone… But I won't let you do that."

"Why not?"

The orange haired shinigami reached his hand up to Orihime's healing aura and touched her hands from inside of the bubble, hazel orbs gazing so intensely it was as if they were on fire. "Urahara-san said that rejecting something of that magnitude would kill you. I won't let you die."

"But if it will help us win the war…" Orihime mused. Her eyes dropped to the ground.

"Inoue, it's out of the question!" Ichigo's sudden outburst took Orihime by surprise, and she leapt back, scattering Soten Kisshun. The wisps of gold transpired into the air.

"Okay, I won't do it. What's the plan?" responded Orihime. She collected her spirit energy and Ichigo felt the warming relief wash over his body again, although the effects of his once fatal injuries were almost fully reversed.

Despite the fact that Ichigo talked and she listened intently, Orihime knew what she truly had to do. Listening to the sounds of swords clashing behind her, the girl fought to keep the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes from falling.

Orihime wouldn't cry for the loss of her own life. The sacrifice would be the least she could do to make amends for all the problems she had caused, for the deaths, both past and future, as well as being the igniting spark of the winter war.

But how could she leave Ulquiorra now, after he had put everything in his existence on the line for the vague hope of them being together? It seemed like the most terrible thing in the world. Especially after finding out how his previous life ended. She closed her eyes and the stream of gold flowing from her fingertips slowed until it disappeared completely.

"Thanks Inoue," said Ichigo, pulling her into a tight embrace. "For everything. When I was dying, I was scared that so many things I was thinking would go unsaid between us forever."

"There's no such thing as forever, Kurosaki-kun. And you're welcome," Orihime smiled warmly.

She jerked out of Ichigo's arms and whirled around the moment she felt Ulquiorra's reiatsu disappear completely. Her cropped locks of red hair fell away from her eyes just in time for Orihime to catch a glimpse of Ulquiorra, his emerald eyes widened with shock, before he vanished.

Grimmjow sheathed his sword, smirking malevolently. "Don't cry, Princess. He's in another dimension 'cause I slipped the little fucker a caja negacion. He'll be back within the hour," he said. Turning to face Ichigo, the teal haired arrancar's grin widened. "Just enough time for me to gut you like a fucking fish. Up and at em, shinigami!"

Orihime dropped Zangetsu on Ichigo's lap. "I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun!" she blurted out before turning on her heel and sprinting away as fast as her legs would carry her.

She could hear Grimmjow laughing and Ichigo calling after her, but Orihime kept running through the hot sand until she reached the entrance to Los Noches through which she and the sixth had exited. Stopping for only a few seconds to catch her breath, Orihime slipped into the castle through the massive white doors and hoped that the hours she spend aimlessly wandering around the castle with Ulquiorra would provide sufficient navigation for the task at hand.

**:D reviewers will receive cookies. giant ones with chocolate chips.**


	19. Behold

**A/N: Another trillion apologies. I pretty much wrote the ending for this a long while ago, back in February perhaps, and forgot about it for a while because I've been doing lots of fun stuff and also a lot of work. But I keep getting alerts and emails that there's still people who enjoy this story so here's the ending.**

* * *

Ever since she was a young girl, Orihime had the spiritual awareness of a soul reaper. But never in her life, even when standing next to the great Aizen when he left his reiatsu unchecked, had she felt a power that made her feel completely drained and crushed.

When Orihime held the hougyoku in her hands, a tingling spread from her fingertips throughout her entire body like electricity. Stormy grey eyes shining with doubt and despair watched the intricate swirls of light and cloud move within its shallow depths.

Running her thumbs delicately over its glassy surface, Orihime wondered silently how a mere object could generate enough spiritual energy to sap her own.

That's why I'll die if I reject it… It would take all of my reiatsu to negate its existence… Orihime mused silently. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes. Sacrificing her life to save all of her nakama and win the war for the Soul Society was something she would do without hesitation.

But the only thing on her mind was Ulquiorra, how much she loved him and how he had learned to love her, the human prisoner.

Orihime closed her eyes and visualized her powers in her mind's eye. Such a large rejection would take all the concentration she possessed. She put aside all other thoughts, the most difficult to banish being the fact that she could never look into those emerald eyes ever again, and began to gather reiatsu at her temples.

A surge of Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure broke her concentration, and Orihime quickly shoved the orb into her pocket. She let out a breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding. A few seconds later would have been too late.

"Ulqui-chan!" Orihime cried out, sprinting across the room to the spot where he had materialized and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Hime-chan," replied the stoic fourth quietly, embracing her. "Why are you crying? Surely you must know by now that I will always come back for you."

Orihime's lower lip trembled and she fell silent as Ulquiorra brushed the tears gently off of her cheeks, using his other arm to hold her body closer.

"I know... I just... It's like… We need to get out of here," choked Orihime, her fists balled around the white of Ulquiorra's arrancar coat. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "We need to leave… I have the orb, we just need to get to the human world now."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes and his frown deepened. "The garaganta portals have been sealed and only Aizen has the power to reopen them."

"What do we do?" asked Orihime quietly.

Soundlessly, he crushed his lips against hers and squeezed Orihime impossibly close, their bodies seamless against one another. Ulquiorra's tongue immediately found its way into Orihime's mouth and he kissed her with all of his passion. The redhead lost herself in the heat and raked her nails into the rough skin of Ulquiorra's back and neck, eyes squeezed shut and mouth moving in perfect time with his.

Orihime felt as if every inch of her body and soul was set aflame, until that moment she hadn't known the deepest, truest meaning of love.

The kiss broke off and both lovers were gasping for air.

Orihime stared up into Ulquiorra's wide eyes unblinkingly and the severity of their situation weighed her down like she'd swallowed lead.

"All I want is to be with you," she whispered. "We have to find a way."

Ulquiorra gently took both of her hands in his own.

"Inoue Orihime, there is no place for our love in this world or your own. This fire will burn us both to death."

Orihime's eyes were wide and her body trembled as the words fell from his lips. Ulquiorra was so close to her that he could count each individual droplet of water that clung to her eyelashes.

"How romantic," drawled a cold voice. The two lovers' grip didn't falter as they turned their heads to face Aizen Sosuke. "Ulquiorra, as you must be aware, I foresaw your treason. What I hadn't anticipated is you taking your sweet time to put any sort of plan into action, nor had I expected you to bother at all with the the hougyoku."

There was no trace of a smile on the chestnut haired man's stone cold expression. Tousen stood obediently at his side like an attack dog waiting for its master's command, and Gin was in his typical spot at Aizen's right hand, grinning slyly.

"Nothing more can be gained by following you," said Ulquiorra tonelessly. He gave Orihime's hands a quick squeeze before stepping protectively in front of her.

Aizen laughed coldly. "How naively brave of you. You will pay for your mistakes with your life."

Orihime's grip on the orb of distortion resting inside of her pockets tightened. She noticed Ulquiorra's body tense and the dark-haired arrancar continued to stare unblinkingly at Aizen. He moved to shield more of Orihime.

The ex-shinigami captain grinned. "Your protection of Orihime-chan is unnecessary. Unless she foolishly refuses to hand over my treasure, I have no reason to harm her. She makes a wonderful pet," he said, winking at Orihime.

Said girl slowly backed away from Ulquiorra. He noticed her movement, with a flash of sonido, their bodies were in contact again.

"I won't let you take her," said Ulquiorra, his usually monotone voice dripping with venom. A hand moved from the inside of his pockets and rested on the handle of his sheathed zampaktou.

"Its funny how ya speak as if ya got choices," chuckled Gin.

"Hand over the girl or I will simply take her from you," commanded Aizen, letting a wave of his massive reiatsu leak.

"I'll love you forever.. Thank you for saving my life," whispered Orihime, voice strangled against the spiritual pressure that rattled through her bones. She pecked a small kiss on the back of Ulquiorra's neck before, to his immense surprise, she sprinted across the room with startling speed and grace.

Facial expression full of determination and confidence as never before, Orihime tossed the hougyoku high into the air and screamed, "_Soten Kisshun_, I reject!"

* * *

Ulquiorra's eyes burned with the blinding whiteness that consumed every inch of the room. The only sounds to reach his ears were loud explosions and the high pitched sound of Orihime's shrill cries.

"Hime-chan!" Ulquiorra rasped, fighting the immeasurably dense and widespread concoction of reiatsu flaring wildly throughout the large room. It felt toxic, as if the pressure was burning his lungs each time he drew beath. Grinding his teeth together, Ulquiorra fought against the winds whipping him backwards and made his way towards the source of Orihime's cries.

It took a few good minutes before the thick spiritual pressure permeating the air settled enough for Aizen to breathe and see again. Glancing across his throne room, he saw Ulquiorra standing over Orihime's limp body, still as if he were a statue.

He didn't even have time to process the fact that all of his plans had been completely and utterly foiled before Ulquiorra made a move.

The fourth espada pointed upwards, and a radiant blast of green cero demolished what was left of the ceiling. Artificial rays of sunlight permeated the dark, dusty room. He took great care when setting down Orihime's corpse, shedding his jacket to wrap her up and keep her head off of the dusty marble floor.

Ulquiorra stood before Aizen, Gin and Tousen. Their eyes all grew wide as a completely uncharacteristic cruel smirk settled upon Ulquiorra's perpetually emotionless face.

"Bind, _Murus Hierago_."

With those three words, the first release of unbridled fury, hell, and despair unleashed itself upon the throne room of Lost Noches.

* * *

Ulquiorra sheathed his scarlet soaked zampakutou. The deft clicking noise resounded loudly through the hollow and lifeless chamber. He made his way towards Aizen's mutilated body, not taking care to either walk around or step on the corpse. He didn't even notice the fragments of Tousen that were scattered across his path, nor the fact that Gin Ichimaru had somehow escaped the furious rampage of his unprecedented double release form. The only being in the shadow of an arrancar's mind and sight was Orihime Inoue.

Panting, bruised, and profusely bleeding, Ulquiorra made his way across the room in his typical fashion of swiftness despite a slight limp. The bloodied claws on the tips of his toes clicked against the dusty, rubble coated marble floors and drips of crimson gushed down his arms flew from his fingertips to stain the room with color.

Ulquiorra returned to Orihime's side. The fourth swept up her limp body, running his clawed black fingers instinctively through her vibrant locks of hair.

His black-rimmed emerald orbs slid closed and he fell to his knees, clutching Orihime's frail form to his chest. His large black wings seemed to wilt and fold like a malnourished flower, tail lying flat on the ground.

The burnt patches of darkness soiling what remained of Ulquiorra's cocaine white skin, the scarlet stains of blood covering his body, the immense darkness of his release form, and the shocking orange of Orihime's hair popped against the abysmal backdrop of grey ashes and remnants of pure white architecture.

Orihime was still, a small trail of blood leaking out the corner of her mouth, but her facial expression was peaceful and emanated beauty.

Ulquiorra's soul-chain hole gave the horrific sight strangely akin to a severed heart that bled black down his chest and spilled over his dead lover.

They were the spark in the pitch black night, the contrasting shard of existence in a capacity of death and despair.

* * *

**::hides behind a barricade::**

**heh… for all you love optimists, I'm sorry, but it just had to be like this. Plus, there will (obviously) be no sequel. But I may be writing more UlquiHime in the future so add me to your author alerts if you wanna keep up with that.  
**

**THIS was the first story I wrote from start to finish that exceeds like ten chapters and took more than a year so I'm really kind of proud right now :3 :3 :3**

**Thanks to all my reviewers who have been with me since the beginning, those who jumped in somewhere during the story, and to everyone who will read this in the future. I LOVE YOU ALL.**

**Special shout out to my lovely beta whitehitsugaya, too! She went through almost all of my chapters quickly and picked up on every error that I missed, haha.**

**I appreciate everyone leaving a review if you read and enjoyed the story... Or even if you didn't like it. Your input is very important to me.  
**

**Uh… What happens now?**


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